Bio-Based Energy, Rural Livelihoods and Energy Security in Ethiopia

This study explores issues of biomass energy use in relation to household welfare and it assesses Ethiopia’s future energy security with a focus on the energy sector model and institutional arrangements required for decentralized energy initiatives.

Dawit Diriba Guta holds a Master of Science in Natural Resource and Environmental Economics from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, and a PhD in agricultural economics from the University of Bonn, Germany. He is conducting his postdoctoral research at the University of Bonn.

Contents: Analysis of biomass energy use in Ethiopian households – Fixed Effect Two-Stage Least Squares – Dynamic long-term model for Ethiopia’s energy sector – Agricultural household model – Fuelwood scarcity, cross-wage effects, and their welfare implications – Household energy mix decision and substitution between energy sources – Determinants of household bio-based energy use – Household labour allocation by activities – Household joint labour allocation to livelihood activities – Determinants of household food and energy expenditures – Household bio-based energy utilization and welfare effects of fuelwood scarcity – Decentralized clean energy generation and use – Assessing energy security, uncertainty and renewable energy options – Effects of technological and efficiency innovations on electricity production mix – Institutions and collective action theories – Bottlenecks and barriers to rural renewable energy use – Participatory forest management.