Up in Smoke: The Influence of Household Behavior on the Long-Run Impact of Improved Cooking Stoves
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Duflo_Up in smoke.pdf
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680.86 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
3eb3bc3ed6857ead2844118452c3e4b5
Author(s)
Rema, Hanna
Greenstone, Michael
Duflo, Esther
Date Issued
February 2016
Journal
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
Publisher
American Economic Association (AEA)
Citation
"Up in Smoke: The Influence of Household Behavior on the Long-Run Impact of Improved Cooking Stoves." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 8;1 (February 2016), pp.80-114. ©2016 American Economic Association.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Laboratory studies suggest that improved cooking stoves can reduce indoor air pollution, improve health, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries. We provide evidence, from a large-scale randomized trial in India, on the benefits of a common, laboratory-validated stove with a four-year follow-up. While smoke inhalation initially falls, this effect disappears by year two. We find no changes across health outcomes or greenhouse gas emissions. Households used the stoves irregularly and inappropriately, failed to maintain them, and usage declined over time. This study underscores the need to test environmental technologies in real-world settings where behavior may undermine potential impacts.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20140008
