Effects Of Household Energy Choice On Health Outcomes Of Women

Abstract

One of the most important areas of economic research is the determination of the factors that influence energy choice and the impact on health outcomes to help in process of formulating and adopting the relevant growth policies to the particular economy. Most empirical work on sources of economic growth for different countries has established that the use of traditional energy types has deleterious effects on health outcomes in any households. Adoption of biomass as a source of energy, has significant health implications, especially in poorly ventilated houses. When these fuels are burned in poorly ventilated rooms incomplete combustion occurs consequently exposing households to respiratory diseases. This paper aimed to examine the relationship between energy choice and health outcomes of women in the households given that in their traditional role as the cooks they are the most prone. The study adopted the multinomial logit and the logit regression models as its econometric approach. The study used the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS) dataset for period 2015/2016. The study found that household total expenditure, infrastructure, household size, household head’s marital status and location as important determinants of energy choice in Kenya. Concerning the effect of the household energy mix on women’s health outcomes in Kenya, the study established that women who use firewood were more probable of experiencing adverse health outcomes. Further, the study established that married women and those with better educational attainments had lower probability of experiencing adverse health outcomes from their choice of the energy mix. The policy implication of study findings is that there should be an intensification of programs that increase the income levels of households especially those in the village so that households’ members can easily widen the scope from which they can choose their energy. Further, policies such as building the capacity of women by improving their educational attainments should be geared towards promoting of adoption of modern energy types to reduce the likelihood of women experiencing adverse health outcomes by using traditional energy fuels.