A pathway towards energy transition: Urbanization and clean fuel adoption in Chinese homes

Abstract

The transition from traditional cooking fuels to cleaner alternatives is essential for addressing environmental and public health challenges in developing countries. Economic growth and urbanization influence household cooking fuel choices by improving access to modern energy infrastructure. Using data from the China Family Panel Study (CFPS), this study develops a structural model with an indirect utility framework to evaluate how fuel prices, household characteristics, internal migration, and infrastructure expansion shape cooking fuel preferences. A key contribution is the use of data on natural gas pipeline length and built-up area to capture the extent of urbanization and to support counterfactual policy analysis. The policy experiments examine how household registration reforms that affect internal migration, as well as changes in natural gas prices and infrastructure, alter residential energy choices and household welfare. The results show that both increased internal migration and expanded infrastructure substantially raise the likelihood that households adopt cleaner cooking fuels.

Department(s)

Economics

Comments

Rice University, Grant None

Keywords and Phrases

Energy transition; Household energy consumption; Urbanization

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1873-6181; 0140-9883

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2026 Elsevier, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Feb 2026

Link to Full Text

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