Drivers of Household Willingness-to-Pay for Alternative Cooking Technologies in Urban Malawi
This study of 1,613 urban households in Malawi reveals that while 88.6% are willing to pay for clean cooking technologies, behavioral factors like awareness and prior experience are the strongest predictors of this willingness, suggesting that policy interventions must prioritize experiential campaigns, user-centered designs, and improved market access to overcome the dominance of charcoal and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
In many parts of the world, the simple act of cooking a meal remains a daily struggle that shapes health, the environment, and the economic future of families. For billions of people, the kitchen is not just a place of nourishment but a site of significant risk, where reliance on burning wood or charcoal fills the air with smoke that damages lungs and contributes to the loss of forests. While governments and aid groups have long promoted cleaner alternatives like gas stoves or electric cookers, the path from traditional fires to modern technology is rarely a straight line. People do not simply swap one fuel for another as their income rises; instead, they often juggle multiple options, keeping their old charcoal stoves while trying out new ones. This complex behavior, known as energy stacking, suggests that money is not the only thing holding people back. To understand why families choose the fuels they do, researchers must look beyond bank accounts and examine the daily realities of safety, convenience, and the trust people place in new tools.
A team of researchers from Malawi set out to untangle these choices in the country's four largest cities: Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu, and Zomba. They surveyed more than 1,600 households, asking not just what fuels people used, but what they would be willing to pay for a better stove. The goal was to move past simple assumptions about poverty and discover the specific drivers that make a family say yes to a cleaner technology. The study found that while money matters, it is not the strongest force at play. Instead, the decision to pay for a new stove is driven most powerfully by what people know, what they have experienced, and how they perceive the technology itself.
The researchers discovered a striking gap between what people say they want and what they actually use. Nearly 89 percent of the households surveyed said they were willing to buy an improved cooking stove if one were available and affordable. Yet, in the same cities, charcoal remains the dominant fuel, used by more than 82 percent of homes. This contradiction reveals that the barrier is not a lack of desire, but a mismatch between willingness and reality. The study shows that when families do consider switching, their choices are shaped by a mix of factors. The most powerful influence is experience. Households that had already tried an improved stove were significantly more likely to say they would pay for one again. Similarly, simply being aware of these technologies or having seen them in action increased the likelihood of a positive response.
Beyond experience, the physical qualities of the stove matter deeply. Families are willing to pay more for technologies that they believe are efficient, safe, and convenient. If a stove is perceived as difficult to use, too smoky, or messy to clean, it loses its appeal regardless of its price. The study highlighted that the fear of getting dirty or dealing with excessive smoke are major reasons people reject certain technologies. Conversely, the promise of faster cooking times and easier handling drives interest. While income does play a role—wealthier families are more likely to express willingness to pay—it is not the sole determinant. Even households with modest means showed a strong desire to upgrade if they felt the technology was right for their needs.
The research also uncovered how household size influences these decisions. Larger families were less likely to say they would pay for a new stove, likely because the cost represents a heavier burden for a bigger group, or because they doubt a single new device can meet the needs of many people. Interestingly, the age of the person making the decision or their gender did not significantly change the outcome. The study suggests that the path to cleaner cooking is not a simple ladder where people climb up as they get richer. Instead, it is a complex landscape where trust, familiarity, and the immediate benefits of a tool dictate the choice.
To bridge the gap between willingness and actual adoption, the researchers suggest that solutions must go beyond just lowering prices. Because experience is such a strong driver, they recommend that programs include hands-on demonstrations where families can try the stoves themselves. This direct exposure helps build the confidence needed to make a purchase. Additionally, improving the supply chain so that these stoves are easy to find and buy is crucial, as availability directly impacts the decision to pay. The study concludes that for clean cooking to take hold in urban Malawi, and likely in similar cities across the region, interventions must address the whole picture: making the technology affordable, ensuring it is easy to find, and proving through experience that it is safe, clean, and worth the cost.
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