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The Impact of Cooking with Firewood on Respiratory Health: Evidence from Indonesia

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: The vast majority of households in low-income countries cook with firewood, which is known to produce various airborne toxins. We examine whether cooking with firewood results in poorer respiratory health by using a unique Indonesian household survey that collected direct measures of lung capacity. We find that individuals living in households that cook with firewood have 9.4 per cent lower lung capacity than those that cook with cleaner fuels. This impact is larger for women and children than for men. The results strongly support the international policy focus on facilitating households to switch to cooking with cleaner fuels.

Source: The Journal of Development Studies

DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2015.1056784

Authors: Ani Rudra Silwal, Andy McKay

Institution: University of Sussex

Language: English

Topic: Energy and Environment Impacts

Subfield: Pollution

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Climate action

Open Access status: green

Funder: University of Pittsburgh