This dissertation applies the supergame approach to a Salop type product differentiation model with n firms in the market. The theory shows that product differentiation facilitates the formation of tacit collusion among the firms in an oligopolistic industry. The empirical analysis finds that...

Electricity shortages are among the biggest barriers to South Asia’s development. Some 255 million people—more than a quarter of the world’s off-grid population—live in South Asia, and millions of households and firms that are connected experience frequent and long hours of blackouts....

The government of the Republic of Belarus plans to increase district heating tariffs to cost recovery levels and gradually phase out subsidies, replacing them with social assistance programs. Residential district heating tariffs in Belarus are currently at roughly 10–21 percent of...

Pollution from fossil fuels and degraded natural lands are raising the earth’s temperature. The evidence of the causes of global warming is clear, as are its consequences. The economic impacts of climate change are already apparent and they threaten development gains. Extreme weather events...

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...