IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v39y2011i5p773-783.html

Grid Extension in Rural Benin: Micro-Manufacturers and the Electrification Trap

Author

Listed:
  • Peters, Jörg
  • Vance, Colin
  • Harsdorff, Marek

Abstract

Summary Productive electricity use is widely believed to contribute to positive impacts of electrification projects. This paper investigates these impacts by comparing the performance of micro manufacturing enterprises in grid-covered and non-covered villages in Northern Benin. Using firm-level data, the analysis employs Propensity Score Matching techniques to measure differences in profits according to a grid-connection. Although beneficial impacts are found from firm creation following electrification, firms that existed before electrification perform no better than their matched counterparts from a non-electrified region. Complementary measures that sensitize firms about the implications of a grid connection are recommended as important features of program design.

Suggested Citation

  • Peters, Jörg & Vance, Colin & Harsdorff, Marek, 2011. "Grid Extension in Rural Benin: Micro-Manufacturers and the Electrification Trap," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 773-783, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:39:y:2011:i:5:p:773-783
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305-750X(10)00229-9
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James R. Tybout, 2000. "Manufacturing Firms in Developing Countries: How Well Do They Do, and Why?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(1), pages 11-44, March.
    2. Eifert, Benn & Gelb, Alan & Ramachandran, Vijaya, 2008. "The Cost of Doing Business in Africa: Evidence from Enterprise Survey Data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 1531-1546, September.
    3. de Mel, Suresh & McKenzie, David J. & Woodruff, Christopher, 2009. "Measuring microenterprise profits: Must we ask how the sausage is made?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 19-31, January.
    4. Bensch, Gunther & Kluve, Jochen & Peters, Jörg, 2010. "Rural Electrification in Rwanda – An Impact Assessment Using Matching Techniques," Ruhr Economic Papers 231, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    5. Marek Harsdorff & Jörg Peters, 2010. "On-Grid Rural Electrification in Benin – A Socio-economic Baseline Study on a GTZ Project," RWI Materialien, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, pages 64, 04.
    6. Stefano Iacus & Gary King & Giuseppe Porro, 2008. "Matching for Causal Inference Without Balance Checking," UNIMI - Research Papers in Economics, Business, and Statistics unimi-1073, Universitá degli Studi di Milano.
    7. Peters, Jörg, 2009. "Evaluating Rural Electrification Projects - Methodological Approaches," Ruhr Economic Papers 136, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    8. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.
    9. Ravallion, Martin, 2008. "Evaluating Anti-Poverty Programs," Handbook of Development Economics, in: T. Paul Schultz & John A. Strauss (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 59, pages 3787-3846, Elsevier.
    10. Barbara Sianesi, 2004. "An Evaluation of the Swedish System of Active Labor Market Programs in the 1990s," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(1), pages 133-155, February.
    11. Nichter, Simeon & Goldmark, Lara, 2009. "Small Firm Growth in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1453-1464, September.
    12. John Victor Mensah & Michael Tribe & John Weiss, 2007. "The small-scale manufacturing sector in Ghana: a source of dynamism or of subsistence income?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(2), pages 253-273.
    13. Fernandes, Ana M., 2008. "Firm Productivity in Bangladesh Manufacturing Industries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 1725-1744, October.
    14. Little, I M D, 1987. "Small Manufacturing Enterprises in Developing Countries," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 1(2), pages 203-235, January.
    15. Augurzky, Boris & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2001. "The Propensity Score: A Means to An End," IZA Discussion Papers 271, IZA Network @ LISER.
    16. Wagner Joachim, 2010. "Entry, Exit and Productivity: Empirical Results for German Manufacturing Industries," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 78-85, February.
    17. Becerril, Javier & Abdulai, Awudu, 2010. "The Impact of Improved Maize Varieties on Poverty in Mexico: A Propensity Score-Matching Approach," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 1024-1035, July.
    18. Mandelman, Federico S. & Montes-Rojas, Gabriel V., 2009. "Is Self-employment and Micro-entrepreneurship a Desired Outcome?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 1914-1925, December.
    19. Frondel, Manuel & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2005. "Evaluating environmental programs: The perspective of modern evaluation research," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(4), pages 515-526, December.
    20. Blalock, Garrick & Veloso, Francisco M., 2007. "Imports, Productivity Growth, and Supply Chain Learning," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1134-1151, July.
    21. Masakure, Oliver & Cranfield, John & Henson, Spencer, 2008. "The Financial Performance of Non-farm Microenterprises in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 2733-2762, December.
    22. Harsdorff, Marek & Peters, Jörg, 2010. "On-grid rural electrification in Benin: A socio-economic baseline study on a GTZ Project," RWI Materialien 57, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung.
    23. repec:bla:germec:v:11:y:2010:i::p:78-85 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Jens Matthias Arnold & Aaditya Mattoo & Gaia Narciso, 2008. "Services Inputs and Firm Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Firm-Level Data," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 17(4), pages 578-599, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gunther Bensch & Jochen Kluve & Jörg Peters, 2011. "Impacts of rural electrification in Rwanda," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(4), pages 567-588, December.
    2. Gunther Bensch, & Jochen Kluve & Jörg Peters, 2011. "Impacts of Rural Electrifi cation in Rwanda," Ruhr Economic Papers 0284, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    3. Mertzanis, Charilaos, 2018. "Institutions, development and energy constraints," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 962-982.
    4. Bensch, Gunther & Peters, Jörg & Sievert, Maximiliane, 2012. "Fear of the Dark? – How Access to Electric Lighting Affects Security Attitudes and Nighttime Activities in Rural Senegal," Ruhr Economic Papers 369, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    5. Bensch, Gunther & Peters, Jörg & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2012. "Impact Evaluation of Productive Use - An Implementation Guideline for Electrification Projects," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 40, pages 186-195.
    6. Gunther Bensch & Jörg Peters & Maximiliane Sievert, 2012. "Fear of the Dark? – How Access to Electric Lighting Affects Security Attitudes and Nighttime Activities in Rural Senegal," Ruhr Economic Papers 0369, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    7. Mohammad Abir Shahid Chowdhury & Shuai Chuanmin & Marcela Sokolová & ABM Munibur Rahman & Ahsan Akbar & Zahid Ali & Muhammad Usman, 2021. "Unveiling the Nexus between Access to Electricity, Firm Size and SME’s Performance in Bangladesh: New Evidence Using PSM," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    8. Ayambila, Sylvester Nsobire, 2014. "The Determinants of Non-Farm Micro and Small Enterprise Employment and Financial Performance in Ghana," Miscellaneous Publications 358829, University of Ghana, Institute of Statistical Social & Economic Research (ISSER).
    9. Gunther Bensch & Jörg Peters, 2011. "Impact Evaluation of Productive Use – An Implementation Guideline for Electrifi cation Projects," Ruhr Economic Papers 0279, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    10. Nagler, Paula & Naudé, Wim, 2014. "Labor Productivity in Rural African Enterprises: Empirical Evidence from the LSMS-ISA," IZA Discussion Papers 8524, IZA Network @ LISER.
    11. Richard Kneller & Florian Misch, 2014. "The Effects Of Public Spending Composition On Firm Productivity," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(4), pages 1525-1542, October.
    12. Martijn A. Boermans & Daan Willebrands, 2018. "Financial Constraints Matter: Empirical Evidence On Borrowing Behavior, Microfinance And Firm Productivity," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(02), pages 1-24, June.
    13. Justus, Ochieng & Knerr, Beatrice & Owuor, George & Ouma, Emily, 2015. "Agricultural commercialization and household food security: The case of smallholders in Great Lakes Region of Central Africa," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212588, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Carl Friedrich Kreuser & Carol Newman, 2018. "Total Factor Productivity in South African Manufacturing Firms," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 86(S1), pages 40-78, January.
    15. Julius Manda & Cornelis Gardebroek & Makaiko Khonje & Arega Alene & Munyaradzi Mutenje & Menale Kassie, 2016. "Determinants of child nutritional status in the eastern province of Zambia: the role of improved maize varieties," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 8(1), pages 239-253, February.
    16. Robert J. R. Elliott & Liza Jabbour & Liyun Zhang, 2016. "Firm productivity and importing: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 49(3), pages 1086-1124, August.
    17. Carl Friedrich Kreuser & Carol Newman, 2018. "Total Factor Productivity in South African Manufacturing Firms," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 86(S1), pages 40-78, January.
    18. Arnstein Aassve & Gianni Betti & Stefano Mazzuco & Letizia Mencarini, 2007. "Marital disruption and economic well‐being: a comparative analysis," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 170(3), pages 781-799, July.
    19. Nawab Khan & Ram L. Ray & Hazem S. Kassem & Farhat Ullah Khan & Muhammad Ihtisham & Shemei Zhang, 2022. "Does the Adoption of Mobile Internet Technology Promote Wheat Productivity? Evidence from Rural Farmers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-15, June.
    20. Tesfaye T. Lemma & Tendai Gwatidzo & Mthokozisi Mlilo, 2023. "Gender differences in business performance: evidence from Kenya and South Africa," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 591-614, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:39:y:2011:i:5:p:773-783. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.