The impact of fuel incentive and improved cook stove on firewood collection in refugees camps in Tanzania: A quasi-experimental research design

The demand for solid fuel (firewood) placed an economic burden on the daily procurement of fuel for cooking by forcibly displaced people. The context rendered the distribution of free improved cook stoves (ICS) unsuccessful. Thus, promoting solid fuel incentives might address health and environmenta...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Tukae Mbegalo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Cogent Economics & Finance
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23322039.2024.2448229
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1841552009366339584
author Tukae Mbegalo
author_facet Tukae Mbegalo
author_sort Tukae Mbegalo
collection DOAJ
description The demand for solid fuel (firewood) placed an economic burden on the daily procurement of fuel for cooking by forcibly displaced people. The context rendered the distribution of free improved cook stoves (ICS) unsuccessful. Thus, promoting solid fuel incentives might address health and environmental challenges linked to firewood use. This study aimed to assess the impact of an intervention combining ICS and solid fuel on firewood collection in refugee camps in the Kigoma region of Tanzania. Data were drawn from the 2020 UNHCR energy survey, with a final sample of 329 participants from both baseline and end-line surveys. The study employed propensity score matching (PSM) and difference-in-differences (DID) methods. PSM, including inverse probability weighting (IPW), kernel matching and multivariate distance matching, compared refugees receiving ICS alone with those receiving ICS and solid fuel at the end-line. Covariate balance was tested to ensure valid matching assumptions. The DID method analysed the change in firewood collection frequency between baseline and end-line data. Results indicated that combining ICS with solid fuel reduced the number of firewood collection trips by nearly one per week, representing a 44% decrease. This reduction alleviates the labour-intensive burden on refugees, suggesting potential economic, health, and environmental benefits.
format Article
id doaj-art-b31c67e49fda449fb55276ac4e7009a4
institution Kabale University
issn 2332-2039
language English
publishDate 2025-12-01
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
record_format Article
series Cogent Economics & Finance
spelling doaj-art-b31c67e49fda449fb55276ac4e7009a42025-01-09T13:35:03ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Economics & Finance2332-20392025-12-0113110.1080/23322039.2024.2448229The impact of fuel incentive and improved cook stove on firewood collection in refugees camps in Tanzania: A quasi-experimental research designTukae Mbegalo0Department of Mathematics and Statistics Studies, Mzumbe University, Mzumbe, Morogoro, TanzaniaThe demand for solid fuel (firewood) placed an economic burden on the daily procurement of fuel for cooking by forcibly displaced people. The context rendered the distribution of free improved cook stoves (ICS) unsuccessful. Thus, promoting solid fuel incentives might address health and environmental challenges linked to firewood use. This study aimed to assess the impact of an intervention combining ICS and solid fuel on firewood collection in refugee camps in the Kigoma region of Tanzania. Data were drawn from the 2020 UNHCR energy survey, with a final sample of 329 participants from both baseline and end-line surveys. The study employed propensity score matching (PSM) and difference-in-differences (DID) methods. PSM, including inverse probability weighting (IPW), kernel matching and multivariate distance matching, compared refugees receiving ICS alone with those receiving ICS and solid fuel at the end-line. Covariate balance was tested to ensure valid matching assumptions. The DID method analysed the change in firewood collection frequency between baseline and end-line data. Results indicated that combining ICS with solid fuel reduced the number of firewood collection trips by nearly one per week, representing a 44% decrease. This reduction alleviates the labour-intensive burden on refugees, suggesting potential economic, health, and environmental benefits.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23322039.2024.2448229Firewood collectionimproved cook stovepropensity score matchingrefugees campssolid fuelEnergy
spellingShingle Tukae Mbegalo
The impact of fuel incentive and improved cook stove on firewood collection in refugees camps in Tanzania: A quasi-experimental research design
Cogent Economics & Finance
Firewood collection
improved cook stove
propensity score matching
refugees camps
solid fuel
Energy
title The impact of fuel incentive and improved cook stove on firewood collection in refugees camps in Tanzania: A quasi-experimental research design
title_full The impact of fuel incentive and improved cook stove on firewood collection in refugees camps in Tanzania: A quasi-experimental research design
title_fullStr The impact of fuel incentive and improved cook stove on firewood collection in refugees camps in Tanzania: A quasi-experimental research design
title_full_unstemmed The impact of fuel incentive and improved cook stove on firewood collection in refugees camps in Tanzania: A quasi-experimental research design
title_short The impact of fuel incentive and improved cook stove on firewood collection in refugees camps in Tanzania: A quasi-experimental research design
title_sort impact of fuel incentive and improved cook stove on firewood collection in refugees camps in tanzania a quasi experimental research design
topic Firewood collection
improved cook stove
propensity score matching
refugees camps
solid fuel
Energy
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23322039.2024.2448229
work_keys_str_mv AT tukaembegalo theimpactoffuelincentiveandimprovedcookstoveonfirewoodcollectioninrefugeescampsintanzaniaaquasiexperimentalresearchdesign
AT tukaembegalo impactoffuelincentiveandimprovedcookstoveonfirewoodcollectioninrefugeescampsintanzaniaaquasiexperimentalresearchdesign