Heterogeneous Effects of Rural Electrification : Evidence from Bangladesh
Achieving universal access to electricity is one of the most important energy policy goals set by governments in the developing world. The recent empirical literature, however, paints a mixed picture about the economic viability of rural electrific...
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/904491497275742546/Heterogeneous-effects-of-rural-electrification-evidence-from-Bangladesh http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27302 |
| Summary: | Achieving universal access to
electricity is one of the most important energy policy goals
set by governments in the developing world. The recent
empirical literature, however, paints a mixed picture about
the economic viability of rural electrification. Although
many studies find substantial socioeconomic benefits from
rural electrification, others propose that these benefits
are overstated. This paper examines the hypothesis that the
magnitude and the nature of benefits associated with
electrification are highly context dependent. Using a panel
data of 7,018 rural households in Bangladesh for 2005 and
2010, the paper explores two underlying determinants of the
heterogeneity: the quality of electricity supply and the
number of years of being connected to the grid. The
analysis uses an instrumental variable and
propensity-score-weighed fixed-effects model to address
potential endogeneity of electricity adoption. The analysis
finds that power outages have a negative impact on almost
all development outcomes considered, while some benefits of
electrification accrue only over the long run. The overall
gain from expanding access to and improving reliability of
electricity supply in Bangladesh is estimated to be US$2.3
billion a year. |
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