Claims for removing fossil fuel subsidies in the Global South are based on climate and equity concerns, but they can be at odds with improving access to LPG as a clean cooking fuel. We examine the case of urban Senegal where LPG usage rates were among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa in the late 2000s. Using representative data, we show that LPG usage rates declined sharply following the...
I study a nationwide gas stove program which aims to convert Peruvian households from wood-fuel cooking to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cooking. Using 16 waves of Peru’s Demographic and Health Survey, I show that infant mortality increases by 15% on average as a result of the intervention. Subsidizing LPG also causes a higher incidence of symptoms of acute respiratory infections in under-5...
