Energy poverty: consequences for respiratory health and labour force participation in Cameroon

Abstract

ABSTRACT Insufficient access to modern forms of energy is an important issue for development. This has made the concept of energy poverty to be widely discussed. There is a consensus on the fact that energy poverty has serious effects on health, education, and other socio-economic aspects of individuals. However, the measurement of energy poverty and its effects on labour force participation is generally absent or inaccurate especially at the micro-economic level in developing countries. The objective of this study is therefore to analyse the relationship between energy poverty, respiratory health and participation in the labour market. The data comes from the fourth Cameroon household survey carried out in 2014. The trivariate recursive probit model shows that energy poverty increases the risk of respiratory illnesses and that these illnesses have a negative effect on the labour force participation, especially for women.