Much of Sub-Saharan Africa's post-independence macroeconomic history has been characterized by boom-bust cycles. Growth accelerations have been common, but short lived. Weak policy formulation and implementation led to large external and fiscal imbalances, excessive debt accumulation, volatile...

In urban areas around the world, increasing motorization and growing travel demand make the urban transportation sector an ever-greater contributor to local air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The situation is particularly acute in developing countries, where growing metropolitan regions...

To promote the development and diffusion of electric vehicles, central and local governments in many countries have adopted various incentive programs. This study examines the policy and market drivers behind the rapid development of the electric vehicle market in China, by far the largest one...

Electrification has been shown to accelerate opportunities for women by moving them into more productive activities, but whether improvements in economic outcomes also change gender norms and practices within the household remains unclear. This paper investigates the causal link between...

As many as 50 million people in Pakistan may still live without connection to the electric grid. Pakistan also has some of the world's worst power outages. Using data from a nationally representative two-period panel survey, this paper presents the first empirical evidence on the cost of...

This paper revisits the relationship between energy intensity and economic growth, using a flexible piecewise linear regression model. Based on a panel data set of 137 economies during 1990-2014, the analysis identifies a threshold effect of income growth on energy intensity change: although...

In many parts of the developing world, access to electricity is uneven and inconsistent, characterized by frequent and long hours of power outages. Many countries now engage in systematic load shedding because of persistent power shortages. When and where electricity is provided can have...

Power shortages present a significant challenge to manufacturers, who rely on power as a key input to production. In Pakistan, power shortages are commonplace, but empirical evidence on the impact of shortages is still lacking. Using a survey of 4,500 manufacturing firms for the year 2010-11,...

Achieving universal access to electricity is one of the most important energy policy goals set by governments in the developing world. The recent empirical literature, however, paints a mixed picture about the economic viability of rural electrification. Although many studies find substantial...

This paper examines the causal relationship between energy efficiency and economic growth based on panel data for 56 high- and middle-income countries from 1978 to 2012. Using a panel vector autoregression approach, the study finds evidence of a long-run Granger causality from economic growth to...