Leaping or creeping up the energy ladder? Technology adoption in rural African households
This policy brief presents findings from a study of electric appliance adoption after the arrival of grid connections in a rural, low-income area of north-east South Africa.
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Dinkelman et al Policy Brief December 2024.pdf
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- This brief explores findings from a study of electric appliance adoption after the arrival of grid connections in a rural, low-income area of north-east South Africa. The study seeks to understand how many years it takes for a majority of households to start using electrical appliances after connecting to the grid and what barriers they may face.
- The evidence suggests that it takes between four and fourteen years after the arrival of free electricity in an area for at least 50% of households to adopt electrical appliances like stoves, televisions, and refrigerators.
- Increasing the speed of adoption could be very costly. In the rural area in question, even increasing household incomes to the level of public-sector earnings (nearly seven times the average household income) would not significantly speed up adoption.
- The source of income may have a more important impact on adoption speed than the level of income. The study finds that households containing a public-sector worker adopt technologies much more quickly than those with similar income levels from different sources (remittances or private-sector jobs). Reliable public-sector wages may speed up adoption because they provide better access to credit.
- A key takeaway from this research is that short-term studies are not indicative of the long-term impacts of electricity access for local economies and households.