The project, titled, "Unmasking the mystery of the varying benefits from electrification", seeks to contribute to the energy debate by focusing on the impacts of recent electrification efforts in Uganda.
Ref No: MS-762
Title: Unmasking the mystery of the varying benefits from electrification
Theme: Energy
Amount: $ 39,667
PIs: Nicholas Kilimani; Marc Jeuland ; Edward Bbaale
Deliverables 2020 and 2021:
1. Research progress report (Due 15 July 2020)
2. First Draft Paper (Due 15 December 2020)
3. Datasets (Due 15 December 2021)
4. EfD Discussion Paper (15 December 2021)
5. EfD Research Brief (15 December 2021)
Abstract
The need for provision of access to clean energy sources has been identified as a key priority both nationally (in Uganda’s National Development Plans) and internationally in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This prioritization stems from a belief that clean energy provision is critical for the socioeconomic development of developing economies, where over 1.1 billion people still live without electricity today. Yet evidence demonstrating the development impacts of electrification efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa remains weak and inconsistent, leading some to say that emphasis on access in and of itself is misplaced, and that more should be done to identify the complementary conditions that are needed to deliver the anticipated economic growth and improved welfare outcomes. This project seeks to contribute to this debate, by focusing on the impacts of recent electrification efforts in Uganda. We will apply multivariable regression approaches (difference-in-difference estimation with fixed effects, quantile treatment effects, and random coefficients) to characterize both the average and heterogeneity of impacts of electrification in Uganda. The study shall leverage at least 5 waves of panel LSMS and other nationally-representative data (i.e., the Energy for Rural Transformation survey based on the World Bank’s Multi-Tier Framework methodology). Heterogeneity will be especially explored along community dimensions that relate to the extent of electrification and other complementary infrastructure (specifically as a function of initial community access to modern energy, a market connectivity index, and a community enterprise index).
Keywords: Electrification; Uganda; development; heterogeneous impacts
Goal:
This project seeks to contribute to this debate, by focusing on the impacts of recent electrification efforts in Uganda.
Objectives
i) Identify the factors influencing connectivity of households/communities to the grid.
ii) Establish how expansion of grid electricity has resulted in improved socioeconomic outcomes at a community and household level on average.
iii) Determine the heterogeneity of impacts of grid electrification across local socioeconomic and community conditions.
iv) Examine how the use of electricity services and socioeconomic impacts of electrification vary by gender.
