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. 2021 Dec;43(2):181-208.
doi: 10.1007/s11111-021-00385-7. Epub 2021 Jun 17.

Migration and Fuel Use in Rural Zambia

Yu Wu  1 , Barbara Entwisle  1   2 , Cyrus Sinai  1   3 , Sudhanshu Handa  1   4
Affiliations

Migration and Fuel Use in Rural Zambia

Yu Wu et al. Popul Environ. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

What is the effect of migration on fuel use in rural Zambia? Opportunities to increase income can be scarce in this setting; in response, households may pursue a migration strategy to increase resources as well as to mitigate risk. Migrant remittances may make it possible for households to shift from primary reliance on firewood to charcoal, and the loss of productive labor through migration may reinforce this shift. This paper uses four waves of panel data collected as part of the Child Grant Programme in rural Zambia to examine the connection between migration and the choice of firewood or charcoal as cooking fuel and finds evidence for both mechanisms. Importantly, this paper considers migration as a process, including out- as well as return migration, embedding it in the context of household dynamics generally. Empirical results suggest that while migration helps move households away from firewood as a fuel source, return migration moves them back, but because firewood is more common, the overall effect of migration is to shift households away from primary reliance on firewood towards charcoal.

Keywords: Energy Poverty; Fuel Use; Household Dynamics; Migration; Zambia.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A conceptual model of the effects of migration and remittances on household fuel choice
Figure 2
Figure 2
Study area
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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