Beer, Wood, and Welfare--The Impact of Improved Stove Use Among Dolo-Beer Breweries

Michael Grimm; Jörg Peters

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0132603

Beer, Wood, and Welfare--The Impact of Improved Stove Use Among Dolo-Beer Breweries

PLoS One. 2015 Aug 5;10(8):e0132603. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132603. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Michael Grimm¹, Jörg Peters²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Economics, University of Passau, Passau, Germany; International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn, Germany.
² Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (RWI), Essen, Germany; The African Microeconomic Research Unit (AMERU), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Abstract

Local beer breweries in Burkina Faso absorb a considerable amount of urban woodfuel demand. We assess the woodfuel savings caused by the adoption of improved brewing stoves by these micro-breweries and estimate the implied welfare effects through the woodfuel market on private households as well as the environmental effect. We find substantial wood savings among the breweries, 36% to 38% if they fully switch to an improved stove. In absolute amounts, they save about 0.176 kg of fuelwood per litre of dolo brewed. These savings imply huge reductions in CO2-emissions and reduce the overall demand for woodfuel, which is predominantly used by the poorer strata for cooking purposes. We provide estimates for the price decrease that might result from this and show that the urban poor are likely to benefit. Thus, the intervention under study is an example for a green growth intervention with pro-poor welfare gains--something green growth strategies should look for.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Pollution, Indoor / prevention & control*
Beer*
Burkina Faso
Carbon Monoxide*
Cooking
Environmental Monitoring
Wood*

Substances

Carbon Monoxide

Grants and funding

The data underlying this research was collected for an impact evaluation commissioned by the Policy and Evaluation Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands (IOB, http://www.iob-evaluatie.nl/en). There is no specific grant number. Both authors MG and JP were involved in this evaluation. The submitted paper just uses the data that was collected with funding from IOB. The submitted paper is different from the above mentioned impact evaluation and it has not been commissioned by IOB. IOB had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.