Accidents caused by kerosene lamps: New evidence from African household data

Arbeitspapier

The use of kerosene for lighting, cooking, and heating in developing countries is often considered a major health threat as it can cause accidents like thermal injuries, poisonings, fires or explosions. A number of hospital surveys emphasize this threat but evidence from household data is extremely scarce and mostly outdated. The present paper is one of the first to investigate the link between kerosene-based lighting and accidents at the household level. We use survey data from 3,326 non-electrified households in Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Senegal, and Zambia and observe very heterogeneous kerosene lamp usage rates. In some regions, accidents with kerosene lamps occur in a substantial share of the population, but the absolute incidence is rather low.

Object Details

• ISBN: 978-3-86788-787-8
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Ruhr Economic Papers ; No. 679

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Health and Economic Development ; Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law ; Economic Development: Agriculture; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Other Primary Products
• Subject: burns ; thermal injury ; kerosene lamp ; traditional lighting ; Sub-Sahara Africa

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Lenz, Luciane ; Montenbruck, Laura ; Sievert, Maximiliane
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung
• (where): Essen
• (when): 2017

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.4419/86788787
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/155770
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET