From Darkness to Light: The Effect of Electrification on Fertility in Rural Ghana

Abstract

Between 1988 and 1993 there was a sharp fall in fertility in Ghana and fertility has since been falling steadily. We believe the massive rural electrification in 1992 plays a major role in falling fertility rates in Ghana. This study investigates how the rural electrification impacts fertility using the Ghana Living Standard Survey data. The sample we use consists of rural women who first married after 1992 and either have electricity in their homes or not. We identify the effect the electricity on fertility rate using exogenous variations in the access rate to electricity in various districts to account for endogeneity of having a home electrified. Results from control function estimations show that electrification contributes largely to the fall in fertility of women. Women with electricity in their homes compared to those who do not experience a decline in fertility between 1 and 3 children. These results are compared to two stage least square estimations which give qualitatively similar results, indicating our results are robust.