Does access to electricity affect poverty? Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire

Arouna Diallo (1) , Richard Kouame Moussa (2)

1 CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International
2 ENSEA - Ecole nationale supérieure de statistique et d'économie appliquée [Abidjan]

This paper investigates the effect of household's access to electricity on poverty in Côte d'Ivoire and how it has varied over the last two decades. The study shows a positive and significant effect of access to electricity on household consumption per capita. Access to electricity increases household consumption per capita by 5.2 to 23.3 percent. The results also highlight that the lower the regional rate of access to electricity, the higher the regional poverty rate. Policy should be designed to expand the access to electricity. Promoting renewable energy, improving the institutional framework, spreading the access to Solar Home System in off-grid areas and implementing incentive measures such as the reduction of customs and tax taxes on renewable energy equipment are measures that might help to combat energy and monetary poverty.

Domaines: Economies et finances

Arouna Diallo, Richard Kouame Moussa. Does access to electricity affect poverty? Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire. Economics Bulletin, 2020. ⟨hal-02956563⟩