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Social interactions and household fuel choice: evidence from rural China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2024

Hang Fang ,
Xuechen Jiang ,
Qianheng Chen  and
Michael S. Delgado Open the ORCID record for Michael S. Delgado [Opens in a new window]
Hang Fang
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, China Green Food Industry Chain in Philosophy and Social Science of Anhui Key Lab, Hefei, Anhui, China
Xuechen Jiang
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, China
Qianheng Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
Michael S. Delgado*
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Michael S. Delgado; Email: delgado2@purdue.edu
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Abstract

We study household fuel choice in rural China through the lens of social interactions, deploying a structural discrete choice interaction model to explain peer-dependence in household fuel choice. The data comes from the China Family Panel Studies 2010–2020, and we use multiple strategies to examine the robustness of the social interaction effects. We find a significant endogenous social effect, meaning that whether a household chooses non-solid clean fuel for cooking is directly affected by the choice in cooking fuel made by its neighbors in the village. Households with lower non-farm income are more sensitive to the choices of others, and the fuel choices of households with a higher education and/or a higher income attracts more attention from others. Modern communication technologies facilitate information exchange among rural residents, thereby strengthening the endogenous social effect. We suggest that public policies can accelerate rural energy transition by stimulating positive social spillovers.

Keywords

fuel choicefuel transitionsocial interactionsChina

JEL classification

O13: Agriculture • Natural Resources • Energy • Environment • Other Primary Products B55: Social Economics‡ R11: Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes R22: Other Demand
Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , April 2025 , pp. 135 - 154
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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