Does the Quality of Electricity Matter? Evidence from Rural India

Arbeitspapier

This paper estimates the returns to household income due to improved access to electricity in rural India. We examine the effect of connecting a household to the grid and the quality of electricity, defined as hours of daily supply. The analysis is based on two rounds of a representative panel of more than 10,000 households. We use the district-level density of transmission cables as instrument for the electrification status of the household. We find that a grid connection increases non-agricultural incomes of rural households by about 9 percent during the study period (1994-2005). However, a grid connection and a higher quality of electricity (in terms of fewer outages and more hours per day) increases non-agricultural incomes by about 28.6 percent in the same period.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Nota di Lavoro ; No. 11.2014

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development ; Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure ; Energy: Government Policy
• Subject: Electricity Supply ; Quality ; India ; Energy and Development ; Infrastructure

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Chakravorty, Ujjayant ; Pelli, Martino ; Marchand, Beyza Ural
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM)
• (where): Milano
• (when): 2014

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/102013
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:46 AM CET