Explaining the rise of economic and rural-urban inequality in clean cooking fuel use in Tanzania

Magashi Joseph Ntegwa; Lulu Silas Olan'g

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23910

Explaining the rise of economic and rural-urban inequality in clean cooking fuel use in Tanzania

Heliyon. 2023 Dec 19;10(1):e23910. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23910. eCollection 2024 Jan 15.

Authors

Magashi Joseph Ntegwa¹, Lulu Silas Olan'g²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Geography and Economics, Dar es Salaam University College of Education, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
² Graduate School of Public Policy, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan.

Abstract

Despite the high rate of economic growth and electrification in the last two decades in Tanzania, only 6.9 % of the nation's households have access to clean cooking fuel technology which is concentrated among the rich urban households. Analysing data from two waves of the Tanzania National Panel Survey (2014/15 and 2020/21), we estimate the economic and rural-urban inequalities in the use of clean cooking fuel. Using the concentration curve, Erreygers concentration index and non-linear Fairlie decomposition, we find an increase in economic inequality and rural-urban inequality in the use of clean cooking fuel. Based on our analysis, factors such as the household head's education, household economic status and household connection to electricity contribute to the rural-urban inequality in the use of clean cooking fuel. Policy changes are vital for ensuring both rural and urban households have equitable access to education, electricity connection and household economic status to address inequality in the use of clean cooking fuel.

Keywords: Cooking fuels; Energy; Fairlie decomposition; Rural-urban inequality; Tanzania.