Impacts of Energy Efficiency Projects in Developing Countries : Evidence from a Spatial Difference-in-Differences Analysis in Malawi
Spatial difference-in-differences analysis is used to study the impacts of a large-scale development intervention aimed at improving energy efficiency in Malawi. The estimation strategy takes advantage of the geographical variation in the...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Washington, DC: World Bank
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/360541636133634224/Impacts-of-Energy-Efficiency-Projects-in-Developing-Countries-Evidence-from-a-Spatial-Difference-in-Differences-Analysis-in-Malawi http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36554 |
| Summary: | Spatial difference-in-differences
analysis is used to study the impacts of a large-scale
development intervention aimed at improving energy
efficiency in Malawi. The estimation strategy takes
advantage of the geographical variation in the
implementation of different project components and is based
on a combination of remote-sensing (satellite) data and
national household survey data. The results suggest that a
combination of demand-side and supply-side interventions was
associated with a statistically significant increase in
electricity access, a decrease in the frequency of
blackouts, and a switch from traditional fuels to
electricity as the main source of energy for lighting (but
not for cooking). At the same time, there is no evidence
that the intervention caused households to pay more for
electricity. The results are consistent with an emerging
view in the literature that there are synergies between
energy efficiency and energy access, especially in places
where the bottleneck to wider electricity access is limited
electricity generation capacity rather than the cost of
connecting more clients to the grid. |
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