How to Foster Adoption of Electricity and Income Generation in Recently Electrified Areas. A Cluster-Randomized Trial in Rural Rwanda
Despite a significant rollout of the electric grid, electricity usage
among household and micro-enterprises in rural Rwanda remains low. This project seeks to answer if the benefits of on-grid electrification can
be maximized by the availability of complementary inputs. Specifically, we study how tailored and bundled Business Development Services
including on-time grants for micro-enterprises and cooperatives can stimulate appliance investments, electricity usage intensity, and
business performance.
We partner with the Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure to randomly
assign the Business Development Services on the village level. The
project will inform policy makers on how to increase the effectiveness
of electrification interventions in Rwanda and in other countries.
This research is part of the Applied Research Programme on Energy for
Economic Growth (EEG) led by Oxford Policy Management. The programme is
funded by the UK Government, through UK Aid.
Applied Research Programme on Energy for Economic Growth (EEG)
Publications
Project start:
01. January 2018
Project end:
30. June 2021
Project staff:
Prof. Dr. Nathan Fiala,
Prof. Dr. Jörg Peters,
Dr. Maximiliane Sievert,
Lise Masselus
Project partners:
Rwanda Energy Group Ltd.,
Anicet Munyehirwe, IB&C Rwanda,
University of Connecticut
Principal:
UK Aid