Rich in the dark: Natural resources and energy poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa

Bruno Emmanuel Ongo Nkoa, Sosson Tadadjeu and Henri Njangang

Resources Policy, 2023, vol. 80, issue C

Abstract: Despite the abundant resources with which Africa is endowed, this region of the world is also, paradoxically, the least enlightened, with a low rate of access to electricity and a high propensity to use fuels for cooking. Based on this paradoxical observation, this study proposes to analyse the effect of natural resources on energy poverty in a panel of 45 sub-Saharan African countries over the period 1997–2018. Energy poverty is measured mainly by access to electricity and the following results are established. First, natural resource-dependent countries in sub-Saharan Africa are associated with greater energy poverty. Second, point resources (oil, gas and mineral rents) accentuate energy poverty, unlike diffuse resources (forest rents). However, we show that this situation is not irreversible, as democracy, especially liberal, participatory and egalitarian democracies, mitigate the effect of natural resources on energy poverty.

Keywords: Natural resources; Energy poverty; Democracy; Sub-Saharan Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 O55 P48 Q43 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:80:y:2023:i:c:s0301420722007073

DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.103264

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