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Electrification and Women's Empowerment : Evidence from Rural India

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  • Samad,Hussain A.
  • Zhang,Fan

Abstract

Electrification has been shown to accelerate opportunities for women by moving them into more productive activities, but whether improvements in economic outcomes also change gender norms and practices within the household remains unclear. This paper investigates the causal link between electricity access and women's empowerment, using a large gender-disaggregated data set on India. Empowerment is measured by women's decision-making ability, mobility, financial autonomy, reproductive freedom, and social participation. Using propensity score matching, the study finds that electrification enhances all measures of women's empowerment and is associated with an 11-percentage point increase in the overall empowerment index. Employment and education are identified as the two most important causal channels through which electrification enables empowerment.

Suggested Citation

  • Samad,Hussain A. & Zhang,Fan, 2019. "Electrification and Women's Empowerment : Evidence from Rural India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8796, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8796
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    File URL: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/112131553786901131/pdf/Electrification-and-Womens-Empowerment-Evidence-from-Rural-India.pdf
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Obsa Urgessa Ayana & Jima Degaga, 2022. "Effects of rural electrification on household welfare: a meta-regression analysis," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 69(2), pages 209-261, June.
    2. Ashish Kumar Sedai, Rabindra Nepal, and Tooraj Jamasb, 2022. "Electrification and Socio-Economic Empowerment of Women in India," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2).
    3. Small, Sarah F. & van der Meulen Rodgers, Yana, 2023. "The gendered effects of investing in physical and social infrastructure," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    4. He, Xiaoping, 2019. "China's electrification and rural labor: Analysis with fuzzy regression discontinuity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 650-660.
    5. Kamanyire, Maxwell Clovice & Matovu, Fred & Wabiga, Paul, 2024. "Electricity Accessibility and Household Business Start-ups in Rural Uganda: Evidence from Quasi-Experimental Analysis," African Journal of Economic Review, African Journal of Economic Review, vol. 12(3), September.
    6. Bera, Ranajit & Mishra, Pulak & Patnaik, Priyadarshi, 2024. "Renewable energy for women empowerment: Experiences from rural West Bengal," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    7. Pradhan Shrestha, Rosy & Jirakiattikul, Sopin & Lohani, Sunil Prasad & Shrestha, Mandip, 2023. "Perceived impact of electricity on productive end use and its reality: Transition from electricity to income for rural Nepalese women," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Energy Policies&Economics; Gender and Development; Electric Power; Educational Sciences; Health Care Services Industry;
    All these keywords.

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