Indoor fuel choice and women empowerment : a demand-side analysis

Household fuel choice and gender are closely associated. Women are the main cook and therefore receive largest exposure to indoor pollution. Children carried by mothers are also victims. The menace can be handled through making a clean choice of fuel. The fuel choice is an endogenous decision for the household and depends upon affordability and awareness of the primary decision taker of the household. Supply of cleaner fuel ensures the availability and that at subsidized rate addresses the affordability constraint. However, that is necessary for the use of clean fuel but not enough. Even when the household is sufficiently able in the economic side, clean fuel does not enter their choice set due to lack of awareness. This chapter attempts to measure women empowerment by calculating Women Empowerment Index (WEI) by applying structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. The structural model finds that WEI has a positive significant impact on the fuel choice made by the household, after controlling for other associated variables including per capita income and education of woman and her spouse. The data used here is IHDS-II data (2011-12) for rural woman of India. This study reveals that empowerment of woman is a crucial determinant of demand for clean fuel by the household. Policies are needed that empower women like well-structured education system and financial inclusion of the woman and create an environment that would enable them to make larger participation in the society as well as to make them confident to take part in household decision.