Clean Cooking in the Global South: A Critical Synthesis of Causal Evidence and a Future Research Agenda

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper synthesizes causal evidence on the transition from traditional biomass to improved cookstoves and modern fuels like LPG and electricity. Although literature identifies liquidity, gender and information as primary barriers to adoption, uncertainty remains regarding usage intensity and technological persistence. To address this welfare wedge, we propose a Clean Energy 2.0 research agenda centred on six critical frontiers: (i) financial innovations like Pay‐As‐You‐Go models and labour‐linked transfers; (ii) the objective measurement gap between self‐reports and sensor data; (iii) increased methodological rigour and statistical power in randomized trials; (iv) the geographic imbalance favouring rural studies over urban charcoal hotspots; (v) a broader welfare lens encompassing general equilibrium effects on household time‐use and agency; and (vi) the neglected energy behaviour of micro and small enterprises. We argue that accounting for the production sector is essential to prevent market leakage, where household‐level gains are neutralized by industrial biomass consumption, decoupling productivity from environmental degradation.