A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Electrification of Rural India from 2005 to 2012
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Electricity has been a key characteristic of modern society and has been a catalyst for economic development. Over the last twenty years, India has electrified 350 million people, yet 30% of rural populations still have no electricity. Using a probit model, I calculate the drivers that impact electricity adoption. I then use a difference-in-differences technique to measure the benefits of having electricity. Finally, I compare the benefits of electrification to the cost of purchasing electricity every year. The probit model shows that income and education are positively correlated with the probability of purchasing electricity. Households who do electrify exhibit single digit gains to income and expenditure, and increased adoption of fans and televisions. Kerosene use also decreases. In conclusion, the cost of having electricity is found to be larger than the income gain for 25% of the population, nevertheless, the welfare gains provide sufficient reason for the promotion of electricity in rural India.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | May 2018 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Gupta, Siddharth |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Kolstad, Charles |
Subjects
| Subject | rural electrification |
|---|---|
| Subject | India |
| Subject | developing countries |
| Subject | income |
| Subject | kerosene |
| Subject | cost-benefit |
| Subject | Stanford University |
| Subject | Department of Economics |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Gupta, Siddharth. (2018). A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Electrification of Rural India from 2005 to 2012. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/qk876nv4552
Collection
Stanford University, Department of Economics, Honors Theses
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- siddgupta96@gmail.com
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