Energy access and gender gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa: The role of institutional quality

Abstract

This paper extends the energy − gender literature by re-examining the effect of energy access on multidimensions of gender gaps in 32 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. The study further explores the mediating effect of institutional quality on the relationship between access to clean energy and gender gaps using World Economic Forum’s newly developed global gender gap index data. We apply the dynamic system GMM and the Driscoll Kraay standard error techniques to show that (1) access to clean cooking fuels and technologies and electricity reduces gender gap and all its dimensions, and (2) the effect of rural energy access mostly yields a greater gender equalization effect compared to urban access. The moderation effects show that improvements in quality institutional frameworks in SSA enhance energy access towards gender equality. Policy implications are also discussed.