Parental background and the use of dirty fuels at home: An exploratory study of Bangladesh

The use of dirty fuels at home is still widespread in developing countries, and it is often associated with various undesirable consequences especially for human health and the environment. Using data from the 2013 Bangladeshi section of the School-to-Work Transition Survey, we investigate whether and how the use of kerosene for lighting in young households is associated with parental education. Adopting a mediation analysis technique, we disentangle the total effect of parental education into the direct effect and the effect mediated by the role of household financial conditions. We find that having both parents not educated is associated to an increase in the probability of using kerosene for lighting (+10.3%). The greater part of the impact takes place directly, while just the 15% works through the mediating role of poor financial conditions. Finally, we find the role of mother's education is predominant over father's one, highlighting the importance of accounting for gender norms and roles.