A breath of fresh air: Raising awareness for clean fuel adoption

Air pollution is amongst the gravest public health concerns worldwide, and indoor sources are largest contributors in many developing countries. In our study central India, we randomly assigned villages to a campaign by rural workers either raise awareness about adverse effects of smoke from cooking with solid fuels measures mitigate them, or combined information on universal cash-back LPG (liquid petroleum gas) subsidy program control group which neither provided. Using sales records, find an insignificant effect purchase refills when measured at annual frequency. However, there was almost 13% rise refill consumption per month treatment, accounting for seasonality, monthly price variation unobserved sub-district heterogeneity. Self-reported electric stove use rose 50%, over baseline mean 6%, probability that household had outlet separate kitchen increased 5 percentage points due treatment. There no decline extensive margin, but intensity usage fell some measures. The findings highlight salience financial constraints importance design schemes inducing regular clean fuels.