Electrification and Socio-economic Empowerment of Women in India

Ashish Kumar Sedai, Rabindra Nepal, Tooraj Jamasb*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

This study moves beyond the consensus of counting electrified households as a measure of progress in gender energy parity. Using the India Human Development Survey, we examine the effect of reliability of electrification on empowerment of women in terms of economic autonomy, agency, mobility and decision-making abilities, underscoring the labor market and respite effects of service reliability. We develop a comprehensive set of empowerment indices using principal component analysis and assess the causal effects of power outages on the indices with instrumental variable regressions while controlling for individual, household, district and caste characteristics. Results show that reliability of electricity has significant positive effects on all empowerment indices and improves women’s labor market outcomes, however, the effects differ at the margin of deficiency, location, living standards and education. The study recommends policy focus on electrification from a gendered lens for cost-effective solutions.
Original languageEnglish
JournalThe Energy Journal
Volume43
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)215-238
Number of pages24
ISSN0195-6574
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2022

Keywords

  • Women empowerment
  • Reliable electricity
  • Labor market
  • Principal component analysis
  • Instrumental variables

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