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Household fuelwood consumption in western rural China: ethnic minority families versus Han Chinese families

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2020

Xiaojun Yang ,
Jun Li ,
Jintao Xu  and
Yuanyuan Yi Open the ORCID record for Yuanyuan Yi [Opens in a new window]
Xiaojun Yang
Affiliation:
School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
Jun Li
Affiliation:
School of International Relations, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China School of Management, Curtin University, Bentley, ACT, Australia
Jintao Xu
Affiliation:
National School of Development, Peking University, Beijing, China
Yuanyuan Yi*
Affiliation:
National School of Development, Peking University, Beijing, China
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: yyyi@nsd.pku.edu.cn
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Abstract

This paper examines ethnic differences in fuelwood consumption in rural households, using an original survey dataset from two western Chinese provinces with large ethnic minority populations. We use a Heckman two-stage selection model to explain the quantity of fuelwood consumed conditional on a decision to use fuelwood. We find that ethnic minority families are more likely than majority Han Chinese families to use fuelwood. We also find that a household's off-farm income has a stronger negative effect on the quantity of fuelwood consumed for the ethnic minority families than for the Han Chinese families. In addition, families owning a larger area of forestland are more likely to use fuelwood. Yet the quantity of fuelwood consumed, especially in ethnic minority families, does not increase with owned forestland. Finally, we find that coal, rather than electricity, is a substitute for fuelwood for residential cooking and heating.

Keywords

Chinaenergy transitionethnic groupsforestlandfuelwoodoff-farm incomeQ21Q23Q41
Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 25 , Issue 5 , October 2020 , pp. 433 - 458
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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