Électrification en Afrique subsaharienne : les effets sur la scolarisation des enfants et l’emploi des femmes

The electrification of rural areas is a fundamental issue for the development of Africa. We are studying the effects of access to electricity on the time allocation, employment and education of children and women in Sub-Saharan Africa. After a macroeconomic presentation of the challenges of the electrification of Africa, we use microeconomic data collected in Rwanda to quantify the impact of the electrification of rural areas on employment and education. Our analysis considers both the effects measured at the household and village level. We show that households connected to electricity allocate less time to household chores than households not connected: Three hours on average less per week. In particular, it appears that in connected households, women participate more in the labor market and when they participate they work more hours (17 additional hours per week). Regarding children’s education, the connection to electricity seems to reduce the repetition rate. Overall, our results support the hypothesis that access to electricity is a positive productivity shock.