A First Step up the Energy Ladder? Low Cost Solar Kits and Household's Welfare in Rural Rwanda

Michael Grimm, Anicet Munyehirwe, Jörg Peters and Maximiliane Sievert ()
Additional contact information
Anicet Munyehirwe: IB&C Rwanda
Maximiliane Sievert: RWI

No 8594, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: More than 1.3 billion people lack access to electricity. The UN have proclaimed the goal of providing electricity to all by 2030. In recent years, Pico-Photovoltaic kits have become a lower cost alternative to investment intensive grid electrification. Using a randomized controlled trial we examine uptake and impacts of a simple Pico-Photovoltaic kit that barely exceeds the benchmark of what the UN considers as modern energy. We find significant effects on households' budget, productivity and convenience. Despite these effects, the data shows that adoption will be impeded by affordability, suggesting that policy has to consider subsidized dissemination strategies.

Keywords: energy access; household technology adoption; Sub-Saharan Africa; randomized controlled trial (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 O18 Q41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 53 pages
Date: 2014-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-ene and nep-pke
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published - published in: World Bank Economic Review, 2017, 31 (3): 631–649.

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Related works:
Journal Article: A First Step up the Energy Ladder? Low Cost Solar Kits and Household’s Welfare in Rural Rwanda (2017)
Working Paper: A first step up the energy ladder ? low cost solar kits and household's welfare in Rural Rwanda (2016)
Working Paper: A First Step Up the Energy Ladder? Low Cost Solar Kits and Household's Welfare in Rural Rwanda (2015)
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