The paper " A First Step up the Energy Ladder? Low Cost Solar Kits and Household’s Welfare in Rural Rwanda” (by Michael Grimm, Anicet Munyehirwe, Jörg Peters and Maximiliane Sievert) has been accepted for publication by the World Bank Economic Review.
Based on a randomized controlled trial this paper examines the uptake and impacts of a simple Pico-Photovoltaic kit that barely exceeds the modern energy benchmark defined by the UN. The study finds significant positive effects on households’ budget, productivity in domestic work, and also the environment. Since only parts of these effects are internalized, underinvestment into the technology is likely. In addition, the data shows that adoption will be impeded by affordability, suggesting that policy would have to consider more direct promotion strategies such as subsidies or financing schemes to reach the UN goal.
The paper won in 2014 the USAEE/IAEE Best Paper Award.