Research on ecol. evaluating development

Article on The Conversation about reaching the rural poor via grid or solar

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 09:47:52 +0000

What kind of electricity makes sense in rural Africa to make the most of available budgets? Maximiliane and Jörg address this question in a contribution on The Conversation.

VoxDev article amongst most read in 2020

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 08:02:00 +0000

An article by Jörg and two colleagues on the use of improved cookstoves as an instrument of effective climate policy was among the ten most read articles of 2020 on VoxDev, a platform for economists, policymakers, practitioners, donors, the private sector and others interested in development to discuss key policy issues.

Further energy research from our team featured in a new article in The Economist

Sat, 23 Feb 2019 16:50:28 +0000

In this article in the Economist, study results by our team and University of Passau are discusssed in the context of debates about grid extension to rural areas in developing countries as compared to off-grid alternatives.

RWI Research Network Workshop on Deforestation and Energy

Sun, 23 Sep 2018 18:51:19 +0000

This week, we brought together an exciting group of environmental & development researchers to exchange at the RWI Research Network Workshop on Deforestation and Energy. Looking forward to continue the discussions on this nexus!

Our Senegal research features in an article in The Economist

Thu, 19 Apr 2018 20:57:01 +0000

Under the headline “How the other half cooks“, The Economist features in its print edition from early April a report on the efforts to coax people towards cleaner cooking fuels. The article describes the situation on the ground in rural Senegal, more specifically a study region of one of our ongoing research projects, and discusses findings from our studies on the uptake of improved cookstoves.

New practitioner-oriented article on findings from an improved cookstove study

Mon, 08 Jan 2018 08:05:15 +0000

In a short article in the peer-reviewed practitioner journal Boiling Point, Gunther and Jörg discuss insights derived from a recent study in Senegal into potential intervention design and communication approaches for entry-level improved stoves.

Lighting up rural Africa: How much do the poor value electricity and can they afford paying for it?

Wed, 19 Jul 2017 20:52:18 +0000

This blog article discusses findings from a field experiment conducted in rural Rwanda where we evaluated the revealed willingness to pay for different off-grid solar technologies. The discussion feeds into our work as part of the Sustainable Energy Transitions Initiative (SETI) network.

World Bank Blog contribution: How much does Sub-Saharan Africa need the grid?

Wed, 12 Jul 2017 17:54:02 +0000

An intense debate continues on how best to provide electricity to the 1.1 billion people currently without access to it – Jörg discusses this topic in a World Bank blogpost together with Michael Toman from the Development Research Group and Energy and Environment Team at World Bank.

Book review “Infrastructure and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa”

Thu, 06 Oct 2016 18:36:51 +0000

Jörg reviewed the book “Infrastructure and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa” by Antonio Estache and Quentin Wodon. The review is available here and is forthcoming in the Journal of Development Studies.

The off-grid lighting transition and other recent discussion topics

Wed, 07 Oct 2015 19:52:53 +0000

We have now published a discussion paper on offgrid lighting in Africa, where we outline the largely unnoticed transition from kerosene to LED lamps powered by dry-cell battery lamps.

In further recent discussion papers, we discuss the evidence of impacts of electrification with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa (where we also rely on a recent study conducted in Rwanda) and assess the link between rural electrification and domestic violence.

Conference participation this summer

Wed, 21 May 2014 21:30:03 +0000

We will present some of our latest research at the IAEE International Energy Conference in New York City, June 15 – 18, and at the World Congress of Environmental and Resource Economists in Instanbul, June 28 – July 2, 2014.

About the ecol blog

Mon, 03 Feb 2014 08:37:41 +0000

This blog is meant to irregularly post news on our projects and research, on job opportunities and upcoming events as well as on contributions to discussions on development policy issues.