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

More than 1.1 billion people in developing countries are lacking access to electricity. Based on the assumption that electricity is a prerequisite for human development, the United Nations has proclaimed the goal of providing electricity to all by 2030. In recent years, Pico-Photovoltaic kits have b...

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Main Authors:	Grimm, Michael, Munyehirwe, Anicet, Peters, Jörg, Sievert, Maximiliane
Format:	Journal Article
Published:	Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank 2019
Subjects:	ELECTRICITY SOLAR ENERGY RURAL ELECTRIFICATION DOMESTIC PRODUCTIVITY WELFARE HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTION ENERGY CONSUMPTION TECHNOLOGY
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31470

id	okr-10986-31470
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-314702021-05-25T10:54:37Z A First Step Up the Energy Ladder? Low Cost Solar Kits and Household’s Welfare in Rural Rwanda Grimm, Michael Munyehirwe, Anicet Peters, Jörg Sievert, Maximiliane ELECTRICITY SOLAR ENERGY RURAL ELECTRIFICATION DOMESTIC PRODUCTIVITY WELFARE HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTION ENERGY CONSUMPTION TECHNOLOGY More than 1.1 billion people in developing countries are lacking access to electricity. Based on the assumption that electricity is a prerequisite for human development, the United Nations has proclaimed the goal of providing electricity to all by 2030. In recent years, Pico-Photovoltaic kits have become a low-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 modern energy benchmark defined by the United Nations. We find significant positive effects on household energy expenditures and some indication for effects on health, domestic productivity, and on the environment. Since only parts of these effects are internalized, underinvestment into the technology is likely. In addition, our data show that adoption will be impeded by affordability, suggesting that policy would have to consider more direct promotion strategies such as subsidies or financing schemes to reach the UN goal. 2019-04-01T16:46:17Z 2019-04-01T16:46:17Z 2017-10-01 Journal Article World Bank Economic Review 1564-698X http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31470 CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank Publications & Research :: Journal Article Publications & Research Africa Rwanda
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
topic	ELECTRICITY SOLAR ENERGY RURAL ELECTRIFICATION DOMESTIC PRODUCTIVITY WELFARE HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTION ENERGY CONSUMPTION TECHNOLOGY
spellingShingle	ELECTRICITY SOLAR ENERGY RURAL ELECTRIFICATION DOMESTIC PRODUCTIVITY WELFARE HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTION ENERGY CONSUMPTION TECHNOLOGY Grimm, Michael Munyehirwe, Anicet Peters, Jörg Sievert, Maximiliane A First Step Up the Energy Ladder? Low Cost Solar Kits and Household’s Welfare in Rural Rwanda
geographic_facet	Africa Rwanda
description	More than 1.1 billion people in developing countries are lacking access to electricity. Based on the assumption that electricity is a prerequisite for human development, the United Nations has proclaimed the goal of providing electricity to all by 2030. In recent years, Pico-Photovoltaic kits have become a low-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 modern energy benchmark defined by the United Nations. We find significant positive effects on household energy expenditures and some indication for effects on health, domestic productivity, and on the environment. Since only parts of these effects are internalized, underinvestment into the technology is likely. In addition, our data show that adoption will be impeded by affordability, suggesting that policy would have to consider more direct promotion strategies such as subsidies or financing schemes to reach the UN goal.
format	Journal Article
author	Grimm, Michael Munyehirwe, Anicet Peters, Jörg Sievert, Maximiliane
author_facet	Grimm, Michael Munyehirwe, Anicet Peters, Jörg Sievert, Maximiliane
author_sort	Grimm, Michael
title	A First Step Up the Energy Ladder? Low Cost Solar Kits and Household’s Welfare in Rural Rwanda
title_short	A First Step Up the Energy Ladder? Low Cost Solar Kits and Household’s Welfare in Rural Rwanda
title_full	A First Step Up the Energy Ladder? Low Cost Solar Kits and Household’s Welfare in Rural Rwanda
title_fullStr	A First Step Up the Energy Ladder? Low Cost Solar Kits and Household’s Welfare in Rural Rwanda
title_full_unstemmed	A First Step Up the Energy Ladder? Low Cost Solar Kits and Household’s Welfare in Rural Rwanda
title_sort	first step up the energy ladder? low cost solar kits and household’s welfare in rural rwanda
publisher	Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank
publishDate	2019
url	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31470
_version_	1764474400390774784

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

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