Effects of indoor air pollution on household health: evidence from Turkey

Indoor air pollution caused by the use of biomass energy in heating and cooking adversely affects the health status of household members. In Turkey, with the rapid economic growth of the last decade, biomass has been among the most consumed types of household energy for heating and cooking due to inadequate infrastructure, dependence on foreign energy, and high energy prices. This study aims to add empirical evidence to the literature on health status and indoor air pollution in Turkey caused by households’ energy choices. This study analyzed these effects with random effects panel discrete ordered models using the Income Living Conditions Micro Longitudinal Data Set for the period 2014–2017. As a result of the analysis, we found that the factors of age, being female, having dependent children, and indoor air pollution have adverse effects on health status. However, education level and income level affect health status positively. The most important observation obtained from this study is that even high-income households are adversely affected by indoor air pollution due to the lack of access to clean energy resources.