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Much of the world population, particularly in developing countries, still relies on firewood to meet basic energy needs. The resulting indoor air pollution can have severe health consequences, particularly for young children who spend considerable time in close proximity to the fire while their mothers cook. In this paper we use data from a household survey to examine gas stove adoption, firewood consumption, and the resulting effects on the health of young children in Guatemala. Our findings suggest that cooking with firewood has significant negative impacts on children's respiratory health. We also find strong evidence that these impacts go well beyond respiratory problems and have much broader health effects. Simulation results indicate that policies which attempt to reduce the consumption of wood and/or accelerate the adoption of LPG may not be as effective at improving respiratory health as policies that target cooking habits to directly attempt to reduce exposure by young children. However, broader health effects are more effectively addressed by policies aimed directly at eliminating the use of wood fuel. AbstractMuch of the world population, particularly in developing countries, still relies on firewood to meet basic energy needs. The resulting indoor air pollution can have severe health consequences, particularly for young children who spend considerable time in close proximity to the fire while their mothers cook. In this paper we use data from a household survey to examine gas stove adoption, firewood consumption, and the resulting effects on the health of young children in Guatemala. Our findings suggest that cooking with firewood has significant negative impacts on children's respiratory health. We also find strong evidence that these impacts go well beyond respiratory problems and have much broader health effects. Simulation results indicate that policies which attempt to reduce the consumption of wood and/or accelerate the adoption of LPG may not be as effective at improving respiratory health as policies that target cooking habits to directly attempt to reduce exposure by young children. However, broader health effects are more effectively addressed by policies aimed directly at eliminating the use of wood fuel.

particularly two anonymous referees for their comments and suggestions.The Institute of Social Studies is Europe's longest-established centre of higher education and research in development studies. Post-graduate teaching programmes range from six-week diploma courses to the PhD programme. Research at ISS is fundamental in the sense of laying a scientific basis for the formulation of appropriate development policies. The academic work of ISS is disseminated in the form of books, journal articles, teaching texts, monographs and working papers. The Working Paper series provides a forum for work in progress which seeks to elicit conu11ents and generate discussion. The series includes the research of staff, PhD participants and visiting fellows, and outstanding research papers by graduate students. ABSTRACTThe expansion of education has been widely adopted as a key element in the development strategies of low-income countries. While there is substantial evidence on the benefits of greater educational attainment for subsequent labor market earnings, empirical evidence on the role played by school quality is scarce. This paper combines household survey data with unique data on school quality, from Honduras, to study the importance of school quality as a detem1inant of earnings. Our objective measures of school quaiity capture teacher training, school infrastrncture and school crowding. The results display strong positive effects of school quality on earnings and on educational returns. These effects p~rsist across a variety of model specifications.

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