Role of poverty in fuel choice and exposure to indoor air pollution in Pakistan

Abstract

Indoor air pollution, due to household solid fuel use, is responsible for a significant burden of disease in developing countries. Fuel choice is often associated with household income. However, many other socio-economic and environmental factors also influence the choice of fuel and the resultant indoor air pollution exposure. The aim of this paper is to assess the role of poverty on indoor air pollution in Pakistan through fuel choice. Furthermore, a multinomial logit model has been used to predict the determinants of fuel choice. The results indicate that although poverty makes a significant contribution, other factors such as household location and area, household size, low level of human capital, asset ownership structure and access to basic utilities are the important correlates of fuel choice. Knowledge relating to the proximate determinants for fuel choice is crucial to inform policy and can play a pivotal role in designing sustainable intervention strategies to reduce the risk of exposure to indoor air pollution in Pakistan.