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Keywords: public policy; infrastructure; socio-economic transformation; rural
This WPE project investigates how access to basic infrastructures – energy and potable water – contributes to promoting economic development and sustainable livelihoods in a developing country setup.
Three packages are covered in this project:
- First, we evaluate the welfare impacts of rural electrification in Senegal. Moreover, most rural households rely on common groundwater sources that are shared between communities. As a result, groundwater is contaminated through the presence of chlorine, fluorine and salt, which are harmful to health.
- Second, we investigate the welfare impact of piped water adoption and explore whether female-headed households and households that have access to road infrastructures benefit more from piped water adoption.
- Finally, we analyse the impacts of power outages on firm productivity and evaluate the extent to which power outages may widen the productivity gap between female and male-owned firms.