Indoor Air Pollution and Infant Mortality: A New Approach

Abstract

I propose a new approach to estimate the impact of changes in indoor air quality on infant mortality. I use a quasi-experimental design, leveraging the largest kerosene to liquid petroleum gas (LPG) conversion program implemented in a developing country. The Indonesian government redirected kerosene subsidy budgets to LPG, a more efficient and cleaner fuel compared to kerosene. LPG produces significantly less indoor air pollution compared to kerosene. I find 4 fewer infants died per 10,000 live births due to the program. In the developing world, one billion kerosene users switching to LPG can save about 7,000 infants per year.