Abstract

This study quantifies ward-level differences in clean cooking adoption in Kathmandu Valley and pinpoints where access, reliability, and socioeconomic factors matter most. We analyze a household survey of 384 households aggregated to 71 wards. The outcome is the primary use of clean fuels, LPG, electric, or biogas. Key predictors are traveling time to the nearest LPG outlet, weekly electricity outage hours, income band, and education of the household head. Methods include descriptive ward statistics, spatial patterning, and a global OLS with heteroscedasticity robust errors. MGWR is planned to recover spatially varying effects across wards. Mean ward adoption is 31.5 %, ranging from 0 to 100 %. Adoption is lower where LPG travel time is longer, r equals −0.57, and where outages are higher, r equals −0.58. In the global model, each additional minute to LPG reduces the probability of clean adoption by 1.5 % points; the coefficient equals −0.015, t equals −4.21. Each extra outage hour per week reduces adoption by 1.67 % points; the coefficient equals −0.0167, t equals −2.52. Income has a smaller positive average effect, coefficient equals 0.034, t equals 1.55. Education is positive but imprecise; the coefficient equals 0.026, t equals 1.50. Model fit is modest, R-squared equals 0.111 and adjusted R-squared equals 0.095, underscoring the limits of global averages. Inner wards with short travel times and fewer outages lead, while fringe wards lag. Results support targeted, ward-specific interventions.

Keywords

  • Clean cooking
  • LPG
  • Electric cooking
  • Biogas
  • MGWR
  • Kathmandu Valley

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