TY - JOUR
T1 - The Impact of Electricity on Economic Development: A Macroeconomic Perspective
AU - Stern, David
AU - Burke, Paul
AU - Bruns, Stephan B
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - We find that electricity use and access are strongly correlated with economic development, as theory would suggest. Despite large empirical literatures and suggestive case evidence, there are, however, few methodologically strong studies that establish causal effects on an economy-wide basis. There is some evidence that reliability of electricity supply is important for economic growth. We propose that future research focuses on identifying the causal effects of electricity reliability, infrastructure, and access on economic growth; testing the replicability of the literature; and deepening our theoretical understanding of how lack of availability of electricity can be a constraint to growth.
AB - We find that electricity use and access are strongly correlated with economic development, as theory would suggest. Despite large empirical literatures and suggestive case evidence, there are, however, few methodologically strong studies that establish causal effects on an economy-wide basis. There is some evidence that reliability of electricity supply is important for economic growth. We propose that future research focuses on identifying the causal effects of electricity reliability, infrastructure, and access on economic growth; testing the replicability of the literature; and deepening our theoretical understanding of how lack of availability of electricity can be a constraint to growth.
U2 - 10.1561/101.00000101
DO - 10.1561/101.00000101
M3 - Article
SN - 1932-1465
VL - 12
SP - 85
EP - 127
JO - International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics
JF - International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics
IS - 1
ER -