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The Global Electrification Frontier and Climate Change

Author

Listed:
  • Burgess, Robin

    (Dept of Economics, LSE)

  • Greenstone, Michael

    (Dept of Economics, University of Chicago)

  • Ryan, Nicholas

    (Dept of Economics, Yale University)

  • Sudarshan, Anant

    (Department of Economics, University of Warwick)

Abstract

Off-grid solar promises a low-cost and carbon-free path to electrification. But will poor households choose off-grid power? We run a multi-year pricing experiment in rural India to estimate demand over all electricity sources, including off-grid solar, diesel generators, and both formal and informal connections to the grid. We find that off grid solar is an important stop-gap, but households value grid electrification five times more. The grid, however, decreases global surplus, both because household payments do not cover the cost of supply, in an environment with high informality, and because grid connections increase carbon damages. We apply our model to data from Africa and find a similarly strong preference for the grid among households there, underscoring the external validity of our results.This paper presents an updated analysis of household electricity choices, comparing off-grid solar to grid connectivity and investigating the economic and environmental impacts. JEL Codes: O13 ; Q41 ; Q21 ; C93

Suggested Citation

  • Burgess, Robin & Greenstone, Michael & Ryan, Nicholas & Sudarshan, Anant, 2026. "The Global Electrification Frontier and Climate Change," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1445, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:wrk:warwec:1445
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • Q21 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments

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