Fiona Burlig and Louis Preonas

from ARE Update Vol. 20, No. 3, Jan/Feb, 2017

View Article PDF: How Large Are the Economic Benefits of Rural Electrification?

Abstract

Universal access to energy is a policy goal for many countries around the world, but little is known about the economic impacts of connecting rural villages to the electricity grid. We estimate the effects of a policy that expanded energy access in over 400,000 villages in India. Contrary to previous evidence, we find that electrification yields at most only modest economic benefits.

Keywords

energy, development, growth

Citation

Fiona Burlig and Louis Preonas. 2017. "How Large Are the Economic Benefits of Rural Electrification?" ARE Update 20(3): 4-6. University of California Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics.
https://giannini.ucop.edu/filer/file/1487699545/17899/