Electricity Connections and Firm Performance in 183 Countries
This paper presents new data on electricity connections for businesses in 183 economies. The data cover information on procedures, time, and cost that a small or medium size business with a moderate electricity need has to invest to obtain a new el...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2015
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/10/25206356/electricity-connections-firm-performance-183-countries http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22880 |
| Summary: | This paper presents new data on
electricity connections for businesses in 183 economies. The
data cover information on procedures, time, and cost that a
small or medium size business with a moderate electricity
need has to invest to obtain a new electricity connection.
The study finds significant variation in the time and cost
to obtain such an electricity connection across countries.
In low-income countries, for instance, it takes on average
nearly twice as long as in high-income countries to connect
a new customer to electricity, while the cost associated
with a comparable connection is 70 times higher. The study
finds that the poor performance of distribution utilities in
low-income countries cannot only be explained by differences
in income levels. The overall level of bureaucracy appears
to be another important factor. The study also finds the
data to be correlated with existing measures of the
effectiveness of the electricity sector, suggesting that the
hurdles related to obtaining an electricity connection
mirror other problems in the sector, such as the quality of
electricity supply and the incidence of bribe payments.
Finally, the study finds that electricity connections affect
firm performance. Simpler and less costly electricity
connection processes are associated with better firm
performance, in particular in industries with high
electricity needs, such as manufacturing motor vehicles. |
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