The Impact of Rural Electrification on Income and Education: Evidence from Bhutan

Santosh Kumar () and Ganesh Rauniyar ()
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Santosh Kumar: Department of Economics and International Business, Sam Houston State University
Ganesh Rauniyar: Independent Evaluator, Paraparaumu, New Zealand
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Santosh Kumar Gautam

No 1801, Working Papers from Sam Houston State University, Department of Economics and International Business

Abstract: We investigate the impact of a rural electrification program on household income and children’s schooling in rural Bhutan. Using Propensity Score Matching, we find that electrification had a statistically significant impact on non-farm income and education. Non-farm income increased by 61 percent and children gained 0.72 additional years of schooling and 9 minutes of study time per day. We do not observe significant effects on farm income. Results are consistent and robust to different matching algorithms. Our findings indicate that investments in reducing energy deficit may help improve human welfare in Bhutan.

Keywords: Rural electrification; income; education; Bhutan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O12 O13 Q48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2018-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-dev and nep-ene
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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Journal Article: The impact of rural electrification on income and education: Evidence from Bhutan (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:shs:wpaper:1801

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