Early Adopters of Solar Panels in Developing Countries

Evidence fromTanzania

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4074822
AutoresMichael G Smith (0000-0001-8541-9625, Columbia University), Johannes Urpelainen (Columbia University)
Año2014
Volumen31
Número1
Páginas17-37
Fecha de publicación2014-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReview of Policy Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1541-132X • E-ISSN: 1541-1338
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/ropr.12061
OpenAlexW1947412649
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas10
Referencias citadas30

Who pioneers the adoption of solar home systems as a source of power in developing countries? While many scholars of electrification praise off-grid options, evidence on their adoption from nationally representative surveys is lacking. We test existing and new hypotheses using the 2007TanzanianNationalHouseholdBudgetSurvey. Since the survey is nationally representative and has more than 10,000 respondent households, it is ideal for our purposes. We find modest support for the notion that wealthier households adopt more readily than poorer ones. Surprisingly, electrified households adopt solar home systems more readily than other households, suggesting that solar home systems provide backup power. We further find that larger households adopt more readily than smaller ones and that a rural location or high education levels do not predict solar power use. These findings suggest that new policies are needed to promote solar home systems in poor and rural areas, where their development effectiveness is maximal

Backup · Business · Developing country · Early adopter · Economic growth · Economics · Electricity · Electrification · Political science · Praise · Public economics · Respondent · Rural electrification · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Energy and Environment Impacts · Engineering · Innovation and Socioeconomic Development · Psychology · Marketing