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Can Solar Lanterns Improve Youth Academic Performance? Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh

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  • Yuya Kudo
  • Abu S Shonchoy
  • Kazushi Takahashi

Abstract

We conducted an experimental intervention in unelectrified areas of northern Bangladesh to investigate the effectiveness of solar products in improving children’s educational achievement. We found that treated households substituted solar lanterns for kerosene-based lighting products, helping to decrease total household expenditure. Solar lanterns increased the children’s home-study hours, particularly at night and before exams. The solar lanterns initially led to an increase in school attendance, but this effect diminished over time. However, the increased study hours and initial improvement in school attendance did not translate into improved academic performance. Varying the number of solar products within the treated households did not alter these results. Analyses that exploited the school grade treatment intensity also provided no evidence suggesting that spillover effects explained the “no academic performance effects.” These findings suggest that improving the home-study environment solely through the provision of solar products may have a limited impact on children’s educational achievement.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuya Kudo & Abu S Shonchoy & Kazushi Takahashi, 2019. "Can Solar Lanterns Improve Youth Academic Performance? Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 33(2), pages 436-460.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:wbecrv:v:33:y:2019:i:2:p:436-460.
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    File URL: https://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/wber/lhw073
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    Cited by:

    1. Koima, Josephat, 2024. "School electrification and academic outcomes in rural Kenya," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    2. Jean-Claude Berthélemy, 2019. "Challenges of decentralized electrification for economic development: lessons from experience," Post-Print hal-02394467, HAL.
    3. Bayer, Patrick & Kennedy, Ryan & Yang, Joonseok & Urpelainen, Johannes, 2020. "The need for impact evaluation in electricity access research," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    4. Beyene, Abebe D. & Mekonnen, Alemu & Jeuland, Marc & Czakon, Sebastian, 2024. "Socioeconomic impacts of solar home systems in rural Ethiopia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    5. Bensch, Gunther & Grimm, Michael & Huppertz, Maximilian & Langbein, Jörg & Peters, Jörg, 2018. "Are promotion programs needed to establish off-grid solar energy markets? Evidence from rural Burkina Faso," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 1060-1068.
    6. Meriggi, Niccolò F. & Bulte, Erwin & Mobarak, Ahmed Mushfiq, 2021. "Subsidies for technology adoption: Experimental evidence from rural Cameroon," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    7. Michael Grimm & Luciane Lenz & Jörg Peters & Maximiliane Sievert, 2020. "Demand for Off-Grid Solar Electricity: Experimental Evidence from Rwanda," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 7(3), pages 417-454.
    8. Masamitsu Kurata & Noriatsu Matsui & Yukio Ikemoto & Hiromi Tsuboi, 2018. "In recent years, the Sustainable Development Goals has managed to shepherd the reduction of energy poverty and extension of sustainable energy, making both international objectives. Using two-period d," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 38(2), pages 995-1013.
    9. Yuya KUDO & Abu S. Shonchoy & Kazushi Takahashi, 2019. "Short-Term Impacts of Solar Lanterns on Child Health: Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(11), pages 2329-2346, November.
    10. Evans, David K. & Mendez Acosta, Amina, 2023. "How to measure student absenteeism in low- and middle-income countries," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    11. Ognen Stojanovski & Mark Thurber & George Muwowo & Frank A. Wolak & Kat Harrison, 2019. "Assessing Opportunities for Solar Lanterns to Improve Educational Outcomes in Rural Off-Grid Regions: Challenges and Lessons from a Randomized Controlled Trial," Working Papers id:12961, eSocialSciences.
    12. Arturo Realyvásquez-Vargas & Aidé Aracely Maldonado-Macías & Karina Cecilia Arredondo-Soto & Yolanda Baez-Lopez & Teresa Carrillo-Gutiérrez & Guadalupe Hernández-Escobedo, 2020. "The Impact of Environmental Factors on Academic Performance of University Students Taking Online Classes during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Mexico," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-22, November.
    13. World Bank Group, "undated". "Africa's Pulse, No. 17, April 2018," World Bank Publications - Reports 29667, The World Bank Group.
    14. Bensch, Gunther & Kluve, Jochen & Stöterau, Jonathan, 2021. "The market-based dissemination of energy-access technologies as a business model for rural entrepreneurs: Evidence from Kenya," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    15. Enrico Nano, 2022. "Electrifying Nigeria: the Impact of Rural Access to Electricity on Kids' Schooling," IHEID Working Papers 03-2022, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    16. Kurata, Masamitsu & Takahashi, Kazushi & Hibiki, Akira, 2020. "Gender differences in associations of household and ambient air pollution with child health: Evidence from household and satellite-based data in Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).

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