Centre for Research on the Economics of Climate, Food, Energy and Environment

Seminars

Forth Coming Seminars:

      • CECFEE Seminar: Are the Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture Underestimated? A Disaggregated Analysis for India

     Speaker: Shreekant Gupta, Delhi School of Economics
     Date : 24 April 2024, 11:30 AM
     Venue : Classroom 14, ISI
     Contact : E. Somanathan (som [at] ’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

Abstract

“An extensive and growing body of literature on the consequences of climate change for agriculture provides a diverse array of estimated effects. This paper contends documented effects of climate change in the literature are underestimated for three reasons: the use of static specifications, the neglect or inadequate treatment of intra-year variability in key climate change variables, and the asymmetric impact of positive and negative climate shocks. We illustrate this underestimation by presenting a case study focused on the Indian agricultural sector. Through addressing these sources of underestimation our results indicate large long-run impacts of rainfall and temperature anomalies on yields for a range of food and non-food crops.” 

Past Seminars:

      • CECFEE Seminar: Racialized urban spaces and environmental injustice using high resolution paired data

     Speaker: Deepak Malghan, IIM, Bangalore
     Date : 12 April 2024, 11:30 AM
     Venue : Seminar Room 2, ISI
     Contact : E. Somanathan (som [at] ’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

Abstract

“A large body of research has documented urban environmental inequalities around the world, but the nature of their association with a racialized social order remains open. Pairing spatially explicit demographic census micro-data from one of the world’s leading urbanization hotspots (Bengaluru, India) with high-resolution satellite imagery, we describe novel multi-scalar residential segregation channels, including intra-street micro-segregation. We use data from ≈ 1.75 million households located in more than 15,000 neighborhoods containing the Jirst-ever spatially explicit coding of India’s elementary caste categories (jatis). The spatially marginalized groups in India — Dalits (the formerly “untouchable” castes) and Muslims — live in the densest neighborhoods that are closest to stationary sources of air pollution, experience the greatest urban heat island effects, and have the least access to mitigating green spaces. The differences between environmental outcomes for dominant and marginalized groups span 0.6–1.7 standard deviations. Accounting for multi-scalar residential segregation enables us to empirically distinguish between intergroup collective action problems that inhibit citizen mobilization and institutional discrimination. We use this distinction to show why racialized hierarchies, rather than mere ethnic diversity, explain the observed inequality in access to environmental public goods. Racialized environmental injustice pathways remain robust even after incorporating high-dimensional Fixed effects and controlling for household income and spatial correlations.” .

 

      • CECFEE Seminar: Global Food Prices, Local Frictions and Air Pollution

     Speaker: Digvijay Singh Negi, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai
     Date : Friday,  15 March 2024, 11.30 AM
     Venue : Seminar Room 2, ISI
     Contact : E. Somanathan (som [at] ’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

Abstract

“Can policies that distort market incentives result in negative externalities with large and widespread social costs? I uncover a robust relationship between global rice prices and air pollution in India. I establish that this link comes about due to higher global rice prices leading to increased agricultural fire activity in states where the government is the largest buyer of rice. In terms of mechanisms, I observe higher global prices leading to specialization in rice cultivation in states with higher government interference but not necessarily suitable for rice cultivation. Market distortion in the form of a pre-announced national price floor supported by government procurement of surplus rice delinks local prices from local productivity shocks and links them with global price movements. This is striking, given that India’s agricultural price policy intends to insulate farmers from global price volatility.” .

      • CECFEE Seminar: Econometric modelling of carbon dioxide emissions and concentrations, ambient temperatures and ocean deoxygenation

     Speaker: Alok Bhargava, University of Maryland
     Date : 18 March 2024, 2:00 PM
     Venue : Classroom 13
     Contact : E. Somanathan (som [at] ’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

Abstract

“This paper analysed several longitudinal data sets for investigating the dynamic inter-relationships between CO2 emissions and atmospheric concentrations, ambient temperatures and ocean acidification and deoxygenation. The methodological framework addressed issues such as the use of temperature ‘anomalies’, diffusion of CO2 to atmospheric stations, distributional misspecification and non-stationarity of errors affecting empirical models, and use of spline functions for modelling trends in temperatures. Longitudinal data on CO2 emissions for 163 countries and atmospheric CO2 concentrations at 10 stations, ambient temperatures from over 8,500 weather stations and sea-water composition from over 380,000 oceanographic stations were analysed for 1985–2018 by estimating dynamic random effects models using maximum likelihood methods. The main findings were that CO2 emissions exhibited rapid upward trends at the country level, while minimum and maximum temperatures showed cyclical patterns; economic activity and population levels were associated with higher CO2 emissions. Second, there were gradual upward trends in annual and seasonal temperatures compiled at weather stations, and atmospheric CO2 concentrations were significantly associated with higher temperatures in the hemispheres. Third, there was a steady decline in dissolved oxygen levels, and the interactive effects of water temperatures and pH levels were significant. Overall, the results underscore the benefits of reducing CO2 emissions for ambient temperatures and for ocean deoxygenation. Synergies between CO2 emissions, ambient temperatures and ocean acidification are likely to exacerbate the melting of polar ice.” .

  •  

        • CECFEE Seminar: Firm presence, environmental quality, and economic activity

         Speaker: Namrata Kala, MIT
         Date : Friday,  25 August 2023, 11.30 AM
         Venue : Seminar Room 2, ISI
         Contact : E. Somanathan (som [at] ’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

    Abstract

    Firm location decisions are one of the most important decisions managers make, optimizing factors such as proximity to customers, suppliers, and useful information. The inherent endogeneity of firm location decisions renders estimating the impact of firm presence difficult. In this paper, we use an environmental relocation policy that randomly moved over 20,000 small firms operating within city limits in New Delhi to industrial areas outside the city over several years. We find that a reduction in firm presence has a small impact on measured air quality, and is costly for firms: relocated firms have a high rate of exit, which increases in the distance relocated. There are no precise long-term effects on neighborhood-level population density or composition. Next, using random placement in the industrial area, we recover reduced-form elasticities of agglomeration of having similar firms closer to a given firm, using firm survival as the outcome. These elasticities allow us to generate counterfactual allotments of plots to firms, which can reduce aggregate firm exit caused by the policy, thereby lowering costs to firms of this commonly used environmental policy tool. .

          • CECFEE Seminar: An ethnographic study on cooking fuel transition in Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia

           Speaker: Komali Yenneti, University of Wolverhampton
           Date : Friday,  14 July 2023, 11.30 AM
           Venue : Seminar Room 2, ISI
           Contact : E. Somanathan (som [at] ’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

      Abstract

      Access to modern reliable and safe energy services, such as electricity and clean cooking facilities, is essential for meeting basic needs and improved living conditions, while the lack of it can lock people into energy poverty. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) also aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all and has specific targets for improved access to clean cooking facilities. However, approximately 37% of the world’s population lack access to clean cooking facilities. Globally, many households still rely on traditional biomass fuels like wood, charcoal, or animal dung for cooking, which can result in harmful indoor air pollution and have adverse health, environmental, and socioeconomic impacts. The percentage and number of people without access to clean cooking facilities can vary across regions and countries. In the context of Indonesia, the issue of energy poverty is a significant challenge that affects a considerable portion of the population. Although the Indonesian government has been implementing the LPG programme since 2007, several regions of the nation still rely on traditional fuels. As an example, Pitai in Nusa Tenggara Timur, East Indonesia, has only 1.2% of its households using LPG. This study investigates the key determinants influencing the use of firewood for cooking and the acceptance of LPG in Pitai village. This research adopts micro-ethnography as it is a very powerful method for illuminating the details of a social phenomenon. Data was collected through observing household behaviour during cooking and having in-depth conversations with different members of the household. The results of the study reveal that the majority of Pitai households are trapped in dirty fuels. A combination of cultural and institutional factors such as comfortability in using firewood, abundant supply of firewood, lack of good LPG supply, fear of LPG accidents and the price of LPG remain key determinants for weak adoption of LPG. The findings of the research also suggest that improved cookstoves, subsidies for LPG, and education and awareness can help facilitate energy transition in Pitai.

                • CECFEE Online Seminar: Collective model of firewood consumption, production and labour supply: Evidence from Malawi

             Speaker: Raavi Aggarwal, Technische Universit ̈at Berlin
             Date : Wednesday,  07 June 2023, 3.00 PM
             Venue : https://zoom.us/j/7036072929?pwd=RUlpR3ZOWS95OFI4NUZaUjRoZ2dqUT09
             Contact : Debasis Mishra (dmishra [at] at’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

                • CECFEE Seminar: In-Kind Transfers as Insurance

             Speaker: Dr Sandip Sukhtankar, University of Virginia
             Date : Friday,  09 December 2022, 11.30 AM
             Venue : Seminar Room
             Contact : Kaniskha Kacker (kkacker [at] at’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

        Abstract

        In-kind transfers can provide insurance benefits when prices of consumption goods vary, as is common in developing countries. We develop a model demonstrating that in-kind transfers are welfare improving to beneficiaries relative to cash if the covariance between the marginal utility of income and price is positive. Using calorie shortfalls as a marginal utility proxy, we find that in-kind transfers are preferred for low-income Indian households. Expansions in India’s flagship in-kind food transfer program not only increase caloric intake but also reduce caloric sensitivity to prices. Our results contribute to ongoing debates about the optimal form of social protection programs.

              • CECFEE Seminar: Women’s Inheritance Rights and Time Use in India

             Speaker: Dr. Tanu Gupta , Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai
             Date : Thursday, June 16, 2022 @ 11:00 AM
             Venue : Webinar
             Contact : Kaniskha Kacker (kkacker [at] at’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

        Abstract

        This paper examines the impact of the Hindu Succession Act on married women’s time use in India. The Hindu Succession Act was amended between 1976 and 2005 by giving equal inheritance rights to women for inheriting property. To estimate the effect of equal inheritance reform, She devised a difference-in-difference strategy by exploiting the features of the reform. Using the nationally representative Time Use Survey 2019, it was found that women exposed to the reform are investing 41 minutes per day more in employment. Moreover, women exposed to the reform are spending 39 minutes per day less time on home production, with no change in their leisure time. By looking at the individual components of home production, it is seen that the reduction in home production is driven on account of a decline in time spent on domestic chores, with no change in child care work. In addition, another find is that women exposed to reform devote slightly more time to learning. This implies that the reform has led women to substitute their time from home production to market work. These findings are consistent with an increase in women’s autonomy effect. She also finds evidence of intra-household substitution of home production work for exposed women through sharing the burden of home production by other household members, especially the male members. This suggests that inheritance reform could be a form of reversal of the devaluing of women’s domestic and reproductive labour. .

              • CECFEE Seminar: Structural Transformation and Environmental Externalities

             Speaker: Dr. Teevrat Garg, University of California, San Diego
             Date : Friday, April 15, 2022 @ 9:00 AM
             Venue : Webinar
             Contact : Kaniskha Kacker (kkacker [at] at’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

        Abstract

        Even as policymakers seek to encourage economic development by addressing misallocation due to frictions in labor markets, the associated production externalities — such as air pollution — remain unexplored. Using a regression discontinuity design, we show access to rural roads increases agricultural fires and particulate emissions. Farm labor exits are a likely mechanism responsible for the increase in agricultural fires: rural roads cause movement of workers out of agriculture and induce farmers to use fire — a labor-saving but polluting technology — to clear agricultural residue or to make harvesting less labor-intensive. Overall, the adoption of fires due to rural roads increases infant mortality rate by roughly 5.5% in downwind locations.

                  • CECFEE Seminar: A data-driven approach to estimating the social cost of carbon

             Speaker: Dr. Tamma Carleton, University of California, Santa Barbara
             Date : Friday, April 01, 2022 @ 8:00 AM
             Venue : Webinar
             Contact : Kaniskha Kacker (kkacker [at] at’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

        Abstract

        The social cost of carbon (SCC) plays a central role in determining the nature and stringency of climate policy in many countries, but existing estimates rely on outdated scientific evidence. This talk will describe a data-driven approach to estimating the SCC that combines large-scale historical datasets with modern econometric methods, economic theory, and climate science. This approach is used to compute empirically founded SCC estimates derived from geographically granular and probabilistic projections of climate change damages to agricultural output, human health, energy demand, coastal flooding, and labor supply. It is shown that the SCC depends critically on the degree of expected future emissions mitigation as well as choices regarding how society values tail risks and the distributional impacts of climate change.

                  •   CECFEE Seminar: Wildfires, Smoky Days, and Labor Supply

             Speaker: Dr. Ron Chan, University of Manchester
             Date : Friday, November 26, 2021 @ 4:00 PM
             Venue : Webinar
             Contact : Kaniskha Kacker (kkacker [at] at’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

        Abstract

        We study the impact of air pollution on labor supply in Chile. We use the exogenous incidence of wildfires between 2010 and 2018 to identify the causal impact of air pollution on labor supply. We complement the literature that focuses on health or worker productivity, and empirically estimates the economic costs of air pollution. We adopt a reduced form approach to estimate the economic impact of experiencing an additional smoky day on the number of hours worked, based on the random assignment of the day of visit for the National Labor Survey and the exogenous occurrence of wildfires. We find that an extra smoky day leads to a 2.3% reduction in hours worked for the average Chilean worker, with limited rebound effects in the following weeks. The effect is more substantial for workers mainly involved in outdoor tasks (such as agriculture), female workers, and poor households, where hours worked can decrease by 3.7 to 6.5 percent. These results compound on existing results on productivity, suggesting that air pollution may have a more important impact on production than previously thought.

                  •   CECFEE Seminar: Does Traffic Congestion pose Health Hazards? Evidence from a Highly Congested and Polluted City

             Speaker: Dr. Kanishka Kacker, Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi
             Date : Friday, July 02, 2021 @ 9:30 AM
             Venue : Webinar
             Contact : Kaniskha Kacker (kkacker [at] at’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

        Abstract

        Will reducing traffic congestion bring health benefits? We study the city of Delhi, India which experiences extremely high levels of air pollution and traffic congestion. Our analysis relies on high frequency data from Uber which has information by time of day for every day of 2018 at the neighborhood level that covers over 16000 possible trips during each of these time periods. We identify the relationship between congestion and pollution with an instrumental variables strategy that uses unanticipated temporary shocks to commutes as an instrument for congestion; these shocks are defined using hierarchical clustering of traffic related tweets from the Delhi Traffic Police’s Twitter account. Day, month, time-of-day and trip fixed effects remove additional sources of unobserved heterogeneity. Our estimates imply congestion raises pollution and worsens health outcomes, but this effect is small relative to existing levels of pollution. Further vehicular regulation in terms of easing congestion is unlikely to bring substantial improvements in air quality and health.

                      • CECFEE Seminar: The Social Costs of Keystone Species Collapse: Evidence From The Decline of Vultures in India 

             Speaker: Prof. Anant Sudarshan, University of Chicago
             Date : Friday, March 26, 2021 @ 9:00 AM
             Venue : Webinar
             Contact : Kaniskha Kacker (kkacker [at] at’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

        Abstract

         Losses of keystone species that affect environmental quality through their ecosystem interactions can have large effects on social costs. However, crucial parameters for the management of their preservation are often not available. Determining an optimal recovery strategy requires knowing the benefits lost in their absence, defensive expenditures linked to their loss, as well as the direct rehabilitation costs. We study the above in the setting of vultures that serve a major public health role by preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Vulture populations fell in the Indian subcontinent due to the presence of a chemical residue in livestock carrion. The use of the chemical painkiller in livestock animals became widespread after its patent expired and generic versions of the drug made it widely accessible for veterinary uses. Using distribution range maps for the affected vulture species, we compare districts before and after the collapse in vulture populations. We estimate all-cause death rates increased, on average, by six percent in the highly-vulture-suitable districts after vultures nearly went extinct.

                      • CECFEE Seminar: Short- and Long-Run Consumption and Non-Payment Responses to Retail Electricity Prices in India 

             Speaker: Shefali Khanna, Harvard University
             Date : Friday, March 12, 2021 @ 9:00 AM
             Venue : Webinar
             Contact : Kaniskha Kacker (kkacker [at] at’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

                      • CECFEE Seminar: October 16th, 2020  

             Speaker: Dr. Takahiko Kiso, University of Aberdeen
             Date : Friday, October 16, 2020 
             Venue : Webinar
             Contact : Kaniskha Kacker (kkacker [at] at’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

                      • CECFEE Seminar: The effect of climate policy on productivity and cost pass-through in the German manufacturing sector 

             Speaker: Prof. Beat Hintermann, University of Basel
             Date : Friday, November 20, 2020 @ 2:PM
             Venue : Webinar
             Contact : Kaniskha Kacker (kkacker [at] at’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

                      • CECFEE Seminar: Out-of-merit costs and blackouts: Evidence from the Indian electricity market.  

             Speaker: Dr. Louis Preonas, University of Chicago
             Date : Friday, February 15, 2019 @ 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
             Venue : Seminar Hall 2, Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi
             Contact : Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay (abhiroop’at’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

        Abstract

        In the United States, demand for electricity among utilities in the wholesale spot market is assumed to be perfectly inelastic. Consumers therefore face power outages only as a result of infrastructure failure – never because a utility does not purchase enough electricity to satisfy demand. This also implies that inefficiencies on the generation side of the market which raise price do not impact quantity consumed by retail customers. In this paper, we provide evidence that utilities participating in the Indian wholesale market are extremely price elastic: as prices rise, they purchase less power on the wholesale market, meaning that load shedding increases. Using data on plant-specific marginal costs, we document substantial deviations from first-best electricity generation, half of which can be explained by plant outages. These inefficiencies increase the wholesale price, and therefore contribute substantially to rampant blackouts.

                      • CECFEE Seminar: Integrated Assessment in a Multi-region World with Multiple Energy Sources and Endogenous Technical Change.

        Speaker: Prof. John Hassler, IIES, Stockholm University
        Date : Thursday, March 22, 2018 @ 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
        Venue : Seminar 2, Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi
        Contact : E. Somanathan (som’at’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

        Abstract

        We construct an integrated assessment model with multiple energy sources – including fossil fuels and “green energy” – and multiple world regions. The energy sources are imperfect substitutes and their production involve structures that are endogenous. In particular, firms can decide to lower the marginal cost of producing one form of energy at the expense of the marginal costs of other energy sources: there is directed technical change. In the lowering of these marginal costs, there are also spillovers, which are international. We analyze how (potentially region-specific) taxes affect output and the climate with and without the endogeneity of technology. We emphasize the second-best nature of taxation when optimal world-wide technology subsidies are not implemented.

         

                      • CECFEE Seminar: If people pay for improved biomass stoves, do they use them more frequently?

        Speaker: Prof. Randall Bluffstone, Portland State University
        Date : February 23, 2017 @ 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
        Venue : Seminar 2, Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi
        Contact : E. Somanathan (som’at’isid’dot’ac’dot’in)

        Abstract

        This paper uses a field experiment and real-time electronic stove use monitors to evaluate over a period of more than one year how different incentives affect usage intensity of one of the most important improved biomass-burning stoves promoted in rural Ethiopia. Understanding whether, how much and why improved stoves are used are important, because use frequency critically determines fuelwood and carbon sequestration benefits from the stoves. We evaluate three monetary treatments and carefully distinguish between short and long-run effects. We find that distributing the stoves for free is the preferred policy for promoting long-run adoption and use. Requiring monetary payments is not found to promote regular use of the technology.

         

                      • Development Seminar @ Brookings India : Environmental Challenges in India

        Speaker: Prof. E. Somanathan, Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi.
        Date : January 20, 2017 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
        Venue : Lecture Theatre, Brookings India, Second Floor, 6, Dr Jose P Rizal Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, Delhi 110021, India
        Contact : Shamika Ravi (shamika.ravi’at’brookingsindia’dot’org)
        Discussant: Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute.
        They will be followed by Shri Ajay Narayan Jha (Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India) who will give a Keynote Address.

        Abstract

        Environmental problems including climate change, air pollution and forest degradation have reduced incomes and worsened health in India. Prof. Somanathan will examine the evidence on some of these findings. The weaknesses in our institutions that permitted this to happen will be highlighted. Some of these challenges, climate change in particular, are going to become more severe over time. The speaker will analyse some likely future technological, economic and climate scenarios that can emerge from this, and will examine the political and social reactions to these. Further, he will discuss the changes in the Indian institutions and policies that are required to address these challenges.

                      • The Dirty Business of Eliminating Open Defecation: Findings from Two Randomized Control Trials of Sanitation Programs in Odisha and Madhya Pradesh

                        Speaker: Sumeet Patil, The Colford Research Group, UC Berkeley and NEERMAN (Mumbai)
                        Date: 11:30 AM, Friday, 30th January, 2015.
                        Venue: Seminar Room No. 2.

        Abstract

        Poor sanitation is thought to be a major cause of enteric infections and malnutrition among young children. However, can large scale sanitation programs indeed deliver the hypothesized health benefits? We answer this question in the context of India’s Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) using cluster-randomized, controlled trials in Odisha (2005-06) and Madhya Pradesh (MP; 2009-2011). In both sites, the interventions consisted of Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) based behaviour change approaches and subsidies for toilet construction but the intensity and mechanism of the programs differed. We randomized 40 and 80 villages to treatment and control arms equally in Odisha (n~1086 households) and MP (n~3029 households), respectively, and estimated differences in the outcomes between the two groups in an intention-to-treat analysis.

        In both trials, the interventions increased percentage of households with IHL in a village (by 19% in MP and by 25% in Odisha) and decreased OD among adults (by ~10% in MP and by ~17% in Odisha). However, the intervention in MP did not improve child health based on multiple outcomes (diarrhoea, HCGI, helminth infections, anaemia, growth). In Odisha, the height of children under 5 years of age in the intervention group was 1.49 cm larger than that in the control group (85.56 cm). We also find evidence of effect on child arm circumference, but not on weight and diarrhoea prevalence. We also find that the level of OD in the village is strongly correlated with height and arm circumference and the reduction in OD is associated with both subsidies for toilet construction and behaviour change interventions.

        The collective evidence suggests that the future refinements of the TSC may immensely benefit by strengthening both the behaviour change and subsidy delivery aspects of the program. However, available evidence also cautions us that that the effect of improved sanitation may depend on other non-sanitation factors (WASH, public health, environmental, etc.). Therefore, contrary to the current approach, program refinements to the TSC ought to be proved in small-scale and short-term pilots across different regions of India before scaling up to the national level.

                      • A New Policy to Reduce Land Conflict.

                        Speaker: Gunnar Köhlin, University of Gothenburg .
                        Date: 3:30 PM, Monday, 24th November, 2014.
                        Venue: Seminar Room No. 2.

        Abstract

        Land conflicts in developing countries are costly. An important policy goal is to create respect for borders. This often involves mandatory, expensive interventions. We propose a new policy design, which in theory promotes neighborly relations at low cost. A salient feature is the option to by-pass regulation through consensus. The key idea combines the insight that social preferences transform social dilemmas into coordination problems with the logic of forward induction. As a first, low-cost pass at empirical evaluation, we conduct an experiment among farmers in the Ethiopian highlands, a region exhibiting features typical of countries where borders are often disputed. Our results suggest that a low-cost land delimitation based on neighborly recognition of borders could deliver a desired low-conflict situation if accompanied by an optional higher cost demarcation process.

                      • Cooking up change in the Himalayas: Evidence from mixing quasi-experiments with an experiment on cookstove promotion.

        Speaker: Subhrendu K Pattanayak, Duke University.
        Date: 3:30 PM, Thursday, 11th September, 2014.
        Venue: Seminar Room 2.

        Abstract

        Household preferences and relationships with promoting institutions should influence adoption of environmental health‐improving technologies, but there has been limited empirical research to isolate their importance, perhaps due to challenges of measurement and attribution. This paper explores first the heterogeneity in household preferences for different features of improved cookstoves (ICS). Second, we assess the degree to which preferences and relationships with the promoting institution are associated with actual adoption of ICS (electric and biomass‐burning) during a randomized ICS promotion campaign in northern India. Analyzing data from a discrete choice experiment (DCE) conducted during baseline surveys with 1060 households, we identify three distinct preference types using latent class analysis (LCA). These can be characterized as 1) disinterested in ICS (54%); 2) low demand but primarily interested in reduced smoke emissions (27%); and 3) high demand with interest in most features of the ICS (20%). The ICS intervention, which was stratified according to communities’ prior history working with the NGO marketing the stoves, was then randomized to 762 of thesehouseholds. We find that preference class and prior institutional history are both related to the ICS purchase decision. Distaste for smoke emissions appears to be a particularly strong driver for adoption of the electric ICS. Interestingly, the effect of preference class changes over time, which may indicate that initially recalcitrant households are influenced by the adoption decisions taken by those around them. Lastly, conditional on purchase, use of ICS observed during follow‐up surveys is greater in communities that have had previous interactions with the stove‐promoting NGO, but is unrelated to common socioeconomic drivers of adoption and preference class. This suggests that long term environmental and health benefits may be closely related to institutional support.