Community effects of electrification: Evidence from Burkina Faso’s grid extension

We study the effects of Burkina Faso’s large scale electricity grid expansion 2008–2017, using both community and household-level data. We show that the timing of electrification was driven by engineering constraints and thus largely exogenous. We estimate the impact of electrification using a staggered difference-in-differences (DiD) approach, where not-yet treated communities serve as the comparison group. Despite low household connection rates, we find strong positive effects on luminosity, drinking water provision and school electrification, suggesting that grid connection enables community-level infrastructure. At the household level, we find increases in ownership of electric appliances and financial inclusion. Importantly, effects spill over to households that do not have an electricity connection.