The Justification and Possible Approaches to Econometric Modelling of Households’ Firewood Usage

Csuvár, Ádám

Keywords: residential heating, energy transition, microeconomics, sustainable energy, government policy, Q40, Q48, R2

This paper is based on environmental and public health problems that make it necessary to consider firewood as a “blessing” or a “curse”. Deforestation, deflation and increased air pollution associated with high levels of firewood usage are mainly characteristic of developing countries. In these regions, modeling can help to reduce firewood consumption. Then we search for the factors that can effectively lead consumers for other, cleaner energy sources. In contrast, developed countries generally reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the use of import-dependent fossil fuels through an increased use of firewood. In this case, the task of the analysis is to find out the factors in which wood consumption can be expanded. Most commonly used relationship testing methods are usually based on a regression model which uses household or sector data. In order to influence consumption, we have identified 8 main areas: wood prices, substitute product prices, heating equipment, energy efficiency, existence/quality of infrastructure, awareness, income, education. These are the typical areas that come into the reach of the regulators, as they have a strong impact on wood consumption. The issue is not negligible from the Hungarian point of view: burning large amounts of firewood in obsolete appliances and low-energy buildings contributes to air pollution of particulate matters, which has an impact on developing many diseases. To optimize wood burning, it is important to analyze consumption and identify areas to be affected. This empirical analysis is carried out in a following paper, to which this study gives the basis and shows its necessity.

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