Free From the Kitchen Fueled by Clean Energy: Women's Employment and Nutritional Benefits in Rural China

Hao Feng, Zhen Yan and H. Holly Wang

Agricultural Economics, 2026, vol. 57, issue 1

Abstract: The adoption of clean fuels has been associated with improvements in health and women's empowerment. However, the effects on women's labor market participation and family nutrition remain under‐investigated. This study examines the impact of adopting clean fuels on rural women's labor market participation and family nutritional status using representative survey data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey. Our findings indicate that households’ use of clean fuels can promote female employment through two pathways as follows: improving health and reducing cooking time, which leads to an increase in their weekly labor supply by 0.9 days and daily working hours by nearly 1 h. Moreover, this gender‐specific improvement in employment can more effectively enhance women's role in promoting household nutrition, as indicated by more diverse dietary patterns and higher protein intake. This study highlights a novel perspective that integrates domestic energy transition into broader sustainable development goals, particularly those related to health, nutrition, and gender equality.

Date: 2026
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