Community Electrification and Women’s Autonomy

Rikhia Bhukta, Debayan Pakrashi, Sarani Saha and Ashish Sedai

CAMA Working Papers from Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University

Abstract: This study examines the effects of community-level electrification on women’s social autonomy in India using panel household survey data, administrative data and satellite data spanning over two decades. Using flexible difference-in-difference estimators, we find higher community-level electricity hours reduce incidence of sexual violence against women, and improve women’s mobility, fertility choices and access to health care. Results are robust when using night-time luminosity as an alternative indicator of community electrification, most recent data on reliability of electricity and alternative longitudinal estimation techniques. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the effects are stronger in rural areas compared to urban areas. We identify four main channels through which electricity impacts women’s autonomy: paid employment, education, exposure to mass media and safety.

Keywords: community electricity; sexual violence; mobility; fertility; health care; women’s autonomy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D13 D63 H42 Q43 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 50 pages
Date: 2023-04
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:een:camaaa:2023-21

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