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Electrification or deforestation? Evidence from household practices in Côte d’Ivoire

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  • Ly, Alpha
  • Chakir, Raja
  • Creti, Anna

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of electrification on household practices related to deforestation in Côte d’Ivoire, specifically focusing on the expansion of arable farms and the use of biomass fuels. A theoretical framework inspired by the heterogeneous agricultural households model proposed by Angelsen (1999) is employed to theoretically elucidate the relationship between electrification and the expansion of arable farms. Using data from the latest four waves of the household Living Standards Measurement Surveys (1998, 2002, 2008, and 2015) and a pseudo-panel fixed effects regression model, we find that increased access to electricity significantly reduces both the average size of arable farms and the collection of firewood from forests. These results are robust across various alternative specifications and estimation methods. Moreover, an electrification threshold of approximately 80% has been identified, beyond which the beneficial impacts of electrification on forest loss would disappear.

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  • Ly, Alpha & Chakir, Raja & Creti, Anna, 2024. "Electrification or deforestation? Evidence from household practices in Côte d’Ivoire," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:136:y:2024:i:c:s0140988324004250
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2024.107717
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Electrification; Arable farms; Biomass fuel; Deforestation; Pseudo-panel; Impact assessment methods;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • C19 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Other

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