Carbon pricing could increase fuelwood consumption and women’s collection time in Malawi
New research shows electricity price hikes in Malawi increase firewood use and women and girls’ domestic burden. To balance the burden for households, parts of the tax revenue could be recycled. Economists usually propose lump-sum transfers, while people often prefer green investments or targeted transfers. This study - taking household bargaining power into account - emphasizes the possibility to hand out transfers to women, which would also increase their intra-household bargaining power and reduce firewood consumption.