EfD Discussion Paper,
Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the impact of electricity on household food consumption and the nutritional status of children under the age of five, with attention to female-headed households, and discuss possible channels of causation. Using three rounds of the World Bank’s Living Standard Measurement Survey and a Difference in Difference approach, we found that access to electricity increased households’ calorie consumption by 153 Kcal per day in 2013 and by 187 Kcal in 2016. Further, children in households with access to electricity are less stunted than children in households without access to electricity. The findings imply that the channel of causation may be related to the greater convenience of electricity as a cooking fuel compared to firewood or other biomass. In terms of policy, expansion of electricity, in addition to providing lighting and other end use services, has an impact in improving households’ calorie intake and reducing children’s stunted growth.

Keywords: electricity; energy; nutrition; wasting; stunting

JEL-codes: D10; D12; Q40

Language: English

30 pages, June 23, 2022

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