Accidents caused by kerosene lamps-New evidence from African household data

摘要

The use of kerosene for lighting, cooking, and heating in developing countries isrnoften considered a major health threat as it can cause accidents like thermal injuries,rnpoisonings, fires, or explosions. The evidence to prove this is extremelyrnscarce, though. The present paper is one of the first to investigate the link betweenrnkerosene-based lighting and accidents at the household level. We use survey datarnfrom 3,326 nonelectrified households in Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Senegal, andrnZambia and observe very heterogeneous kerosene lamp usage rates. In somernregions, accidents with kerosene lamps occur in a substantial share of the population,rnbut the absolute incidence is rather low.rnThis article is categorized under:rnEnergy Policy and Planning > Economics and PolicyrnEnergy and Development > Economics and Policy