Clean Energy Adoption in Developing Countries: New Evidence of the Relevance of Risk Aversion and Education
利用加纳第七轮生活标准测量调查数据，研究发现风险规避型家庭采用液化石油气的概率低4%，且支出更少，但这一效应在户主无正规教育的家庭中消失。
Cooking with relatively clean fuel has numerous benefits, including reducing pollution and improving health and socioeconomic outcomes. Hence, some developing countries have implemented policies to promote LPG use. However, risks of accidents and explosions may prevent risk-averse households from adopting LPG. This study examines the causal effect of risk aversion on the adoption and expenditure of LPG using the seventh round of the Ghana Living Standards Measurement Survey and a double hurdle approach. We find that risk-averse households are four per cent less likely to adopt LPG and, if adopted, spend significantly less on LPG. The result holds even after endogeneity has been addressed with diverse econometric strategies. However, the effect disappears in households where the primary decision-makers have no formal education, while it is systematically stronger when they are educated. The results imply measures that reduce the actual and perceived dangers of LPG usage could effectively increase adoption rates.