Encouraging households to switch from traditional fuels to cleaner, modern fuels
(e.g.; electricity, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), biogas) is a widespread policy focus
due to its expected benefits for health and the environment. Many of these
policies are based on the assumption that increasing modern fuel use
automatically results in a decrease in the use on traditional fuels. However, this
paper contributes to a growing body of literature showing that is not necessarily
the case. Wood use remains fairly stable across most income categories even as
adoption of modern fuels increases. Factors contributing to fuel choice vary in
their direction and magnitude across countries and contexts. In this paper, I
demonstrate that in the case of Nepal in the 2000s, household size, income,
female education, forest management policies, and market access all influence
household fuel choice, but that these associations differ depending on how fuel
use is measured.