Let me inform you of the following online research seminar.

Date: October 22, 2021
Time: 17:15-18:45
Venue: Online Seminar in Zoom
Speaker:　Ngawang Dendup (Waseda University)
Organizer: Takuya Hasebe
Language: English

Title: Returns to Grid Electricity on Firewood and Kerosene: Mechanism

Abstract: Household dependence on firewood is ubiquitous in developing countries, undermining the carbon services that forests provide. In addition, kerosene is widely used for lighting that emits black carbon (among others). This study examines the effect of grid electricity on firewood consumption and kerosene by using an instrumental variable (IV) estimation strategy, and it evaluates the mechanisms underlying the causal effect. I use three waves of large sample household surveys from Bhutan and other administrative data to complement the main results. The results show that grid electricity reduces firewood consumption by approximately 0.83 – 2.09 cubic meters per month and that electrified households are approximately 61 – 71% less likely to use kerosene as lighting fuel. Households respond to electricity provision by adopting basic electrical appliances and adopting electricity for lighting. Results also suggests that the effect of electricity on firewood consumption is driven by road accessibility and reduction in firewood consumption is larger for richer households. However, I do not find such evidence for kerosene. Further, one electrified household saves emission of about 5.9 tCO2 of carbon dioxide and 5.2 tCO2e of black carbon annually from displaced firewood consumption. Similarly kerosene displaced due to electricity is associated with about 2.45 tCO2e black carbon annually.

* Please contact the coordinators via email, if you'd like to participate in the online seminar.