Essays on Economics of Indoor and Outdoor Air Pollution in India

About this book

Air pollution--both indoor and outdoor--results in more deaths and diseases in India than in any other country in the world. The first chapter in this dissertation explores why despite profoundly negative health consequences of indoor air pollution, most rural Indian households cook using traditional biomass fuel. Among many factors that contribute to households' continued use of solid fuels, we focus on one: women's intra-household status. We exploit Indian son preference: having a girl first child lowers women's status relative to having a boy first child, and is therefore associated with lower likelihood of using clean fuel. This effect is found throughout the wealth distribution, and is not concentrated among households in states with a high child sex ratio or households where women have some education.