Analysis of Household Lighting Fuel Choice in Rwanda: Multinomial Logit Model

Abstract

: The overdependence on using traditional fuels for lighting purposes is closely associated to indoor air pollution, environmental humiliation and high opportunity cost for women and children and consequently affect household well-being, the social economic welfare of deprived population in developing nations to be improved there should consider the adoption and usage of modern lighting services as very important . This paper identifies the determining control factors that influence the fuel energy choice for lighting purposes in Rwanda by applying the Multinomial logit regression to the national representative survey at household level data. The study revealed that the households with higher income are adopting to use the cleaner and modern fuel energy source, confirming the hypothesis for energy ladder. Not only household income exerting impact on the fuel energy choice for lighting, the other fuel choices significant determining variables in Rwanda are: number of the rooms occupied by household, type of dwelling for household, age of the household head, whether the household head has formal education level, the household size, type of the habitant for the household and the location of the household. This paper suggests deployment and utilization of solar potentiality for supplying the cleaner and modern fuel energy for lighting purposes in the remote area of Rwanda.