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,...

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...

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...

This paper examines the effect of energy costs on industry export competitiveness. Most studies in the literature use direct energy consumption (energy consumption at the final stage of production) and domestic energy prices to compute energy costs faced by domestic industries. Using...

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...

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...

Subsidies and cross-subsidies in the energy sector are common throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In Belarus, revenues from an industrial tariff on electricity are used to cross-subsidize heating for households. Input-output (IO) data and a household consumption survey are used to...

This paper analyzes the dynamic effects of rate-of-return regulation on firms? emissions compliance behavior when the price of emissions permits is uncertain. The paper shows that uncertainty regarding the price of permits would motivate a regulated firm to adopt a more self-sufficient strategy...

The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme is the first international cap-and-trade program for carbon dioxide and the largest carbon pricing regime in the world. A significant concern over the Emissions Trading Scheme has been the potential impact on the competitiveness of industry. Using data...