The Effect of PM2.5 from Household Combustion on Life Expectancy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Household fuel combustion, especially using solid combustibles (biomass and fossil fuels), for cooking and other activities produces emissions that contribute to concentrations of indoor as well as outdoor air pollutants such as particulate matter with diameter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) that deteriorate health and likely affect life expectancy (LEX). This study investigates the impact of PM2.5 from household combustion on LEX considering several covariates while controlling for ambient PM2.5 generated by other sectors. The generalized method of moments (GMM) model and the panel cointegration model were applied to a dataset of 43 Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries over the time period of 1995–2010. Both approaches provide similar results indicating that household PM2.5 is significantly and negatively associated with higher aggregate LEX in the long-run, and, to a greater degree for female’s. Also, among the control variables, PM2.5 from the transport sector has a greater influence on male’s LEX. Thus, efforts should be combined to reduce household PM2.5 since lower levels are associated with increased LEX.