Is the Electricity Sector a Weak Link in Development?

Jonathan Colmer (), David Lagakos and Martin Shu

No 32041, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper asks whether increasing productivity in the electricity sector can yield larger long-run GDP gains than suggested by electricity’s small share of aggregate economic activity. We answer this question using a dynamic multi-sector model in which electricity is a strong complement to other inputs in production. We parameterize the model using our own new measures of electricity-sector TFP across countries. The model predicts modest long-run GDP gains from improving electricity-sector TFP, contrary to the notion that electricity is a weak link. Parameterizations that make electricity a weak link mostly require the electricity sector to be counterfactually large or unproductive.

JEL-codes: E23 O11 O41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-01
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Related works:
Working Paper: Is the electricity sector a weak link in development? (2024)
Working Paper: Is the Electricity Sector a Weak Link in Development? (2023)
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