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Fertility and Rural Electrification in Bangladesh

Author

Listed:
  • Tomoki Fujii

    (School of Economics, Singapore Management University)

  • Abu S. Shonchoy

    (Institute for Developing Economies, IDE-JETRO)

Abstract

We use a household-level panel dataset from Bangladesh to examine the household-level relationship between fertility and the access to electricity. We find that the household's access to electricity reduces the change in the number of children by about 0.1 to 0.25 children in a period of five years in most estimates. This finding also applies to retrospective panel data and is robust to the choice of covariates and estimation methods. Our finding passes falsication test and corroborates with the predictions of our theoretical model on the households' time use and consumption pattern.

Suggested Citation

  • Tomoki Fujii & Abu S. Shonchoy, 2017. "Fertility and Rural Electrification in Bangladesh," Economics and Statistics Working Papers 11-2017, Singapore Management University, School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:smuesw:2017_011
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    Cited by:

    1. Obsa Urgessa Ayana & Jima Degaga, 2022. "Effects of rural electrification on household welfare: a meta-regression analysis," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 69(2), pages 209-261, June.
    2. Ujjayant Chakravorty & Ridhima Gupta & Martino Pelli, 2022. "The economics of rural energy use in developing countries," CIRANO Working Papers 2022s-12, CIRANO.
    3. Leduchowicz-Municio, A. & López-Gozález, A. & Domenech, B. & Ferrer-Martí, L. & Udaeta, M.E.M. & Gimenes, A.L.V., 2022. "Last-mile rural electrification: Lessons learned from universalization programs in Brazil and Venezuela," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    4. Li, Jianglong & Gao, Jinfeng & Liu, Hongxun, 2024. "Reducing energy poverty by nearly universal pension coverage of rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    5. Gashaye, Amare Terefe & Liu, Hongxun & Li, Jianglong, 2025. "The effect of access to electricity on rural households of underdeveloped countries: Evidence from Ethiopia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    6. Yang, Yeonbin, 2025. "Does Household Electrification Empower Rural Boys and Girls Alike? Evidence from Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    7. Fujii, Tomoki & Shonchoy, Abu S. & Xu, Sijia, 2018. "Impact of Electrification on Children’s Nutritional Status in Rural Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 315-330.
    8. Gupta, Tanu & Khan, Md. Tajuddin & Negi, Digvijay Singh, 2025. "Agriculture, electrification and gendered time use in rural Bangladesh," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    9. Subedi, Mukti Nath & Bharadwaj, Bishal & Rafiq, Shuddhasattwa, 2023. "Who benefits from the decentralised energy system (DES)? Evidence from Nepal’s micro-hydropower (MHP)," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    10. Rahaman, Mohammad Mijanur & Islam, Md. Monirul & Polbitsyn, Sergei Nikolaevich & Abbas, Shujaat, 2024. "The electrification-social development nexus in Bangladesh: Do governmental policies matter?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    11. Xinyi Duanmu & Jintong Yu & Xiaoyan Yuan & Xuecheng Zhang, 2025. "How Does Digital Infrastructure Mitigate Urban–Rural Disparities?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-23, February.
    12. Wang, Yao & Du, Zhili, 2024. "Has energy poverty entangled the households by hindering the filial generation?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    13. Richard S. J. Tol, 2023. "Navigating the energy trilemma during geopolitical and environmental crises," Papers 2301.07671, arXiv.org.
    14. Zaman, Rafia & Borsky, Stefan, 2025. "Solar power play: Uncovering political capture in distributing electricity access," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    15. Cust,James Frederick & Mensah,Justice Tei, 2020. "Natural Resource Discoveries, Citizen Expectations and Household Decisions," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9372, The World Bank.
    16. World Bank, 2020. "Demographic Transition," World Bank Publications - Reports 33672, The World Bank Group.
    17. Sanjoy Kumar Saha, 2024. "Assessing the impact of rural electrification on economic growth: a comprehensive analysis considering informal economy and income inequality in Bangladesh," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 551-583, June.
    18. Wan, Guanghua & Wang, Chen & Zhang, Xun & Zuo, Congming, 2024. "Income inequality effect of public utility infrastructure: Evidence from rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    19. Raza, Muhammad Yousaf & Lin, Boqiang, 2023. "Future outlook and influencing factors analysis of natural gas consumption in Bangladesh: An economic and policy perspectives," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • O20 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - General

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