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

Kudo, Yuya ; Shonchoy, Abu S. ; Takahashi, Kazushi

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: clean energy;    renewable energy;    solar energy;    education;    randomized control trials;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-7954
RP-ID  :  WPS7954

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This study conducted an experimentalintervention in unelectrified areas of northern Bangladeshto investigate the effectiveness of solar products inimproving children's educational achievement. It foundthat treated households substituted solar lanterns forkerosene-based lighting products, helping to decrease totalhousehold expenditure. Solar lanterns increased thechildren's home-study hours, particularly at night andbefore exams. The solar lanterns initially led to anincrease in school attendance, but this effect diminishedover time. However, the increased study hours and initialimprovement in school attendance did not translate intoimproved academic performance. Varying the number of solarproducts within the treated households did not alter theseresults. Analyses that exploited the school grade treatmentintensity also provided no evidence suggesting thatspillover effects explained the "no academicperformance effects." These findings suggest thatimproving the home-study environment solely through theprovision of solar products may have a limited impact onchildren's educational achievement.