Electricity and female employment: Evidence from Tajikistan's winter energy crisis

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Poignant, Adrian
• 署名单位: University of Gothenburg
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2024.103383
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: electricity; Female employment; labor supply

摘要

This paper studies the impact of electricity rationing on female employment during Tajikistan's winter energy crisis, 2009-2015. Reduced access to electricity led to a decline in female employment as women left the workforce to become homemakers. The negative employment effect is specific to women and does not appear to be driven by changes in labor demand, involuntary unemployment, labor migration or fertility patterns. However, the decline in female employment is accompanied by a lower adoption of labor-saving electrical appliances. These findings suggest that electricity provision releases women from unpaid domestic work. Furthermore, they suggest that the quality of the electricity supply is vital for realizing the full benefits of electrification in developing countries.