Abstract Consistent with the Sustainable Development Goal 7 of ensuring access to clean and modern energy technologies, this study examined the nexus between access to electricity, human development index, political system environment, income level, and income inequality. We employed a nonparametric regression technique with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors from 1990 to 2017 in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study revealed that income inequality has a negative effect on access to electricity whereas income level and human development have a positive impact on access to electricity. Enhancing the political system environment in Sub-Saharan Africa is crucial to ensuring access to clean and modern electricity. The negative effect of political system on income inequality means that good governance environment reduces income inequality. Income inequality is found to reduce human development, as such, social protection policies that reduce poverty are essential to minimize the vulnerability to poverty. The study highlights that the effective promotion of labor markets and the improvement of socio-economic capacity to manage unemployment, infirmity, and disability will decrease income inequality, hence, promote human development.

中文翻译：

---

撒哈拉以南非洲的电力供应、人类发展指数、治理和收入不平等

摘要 与确保获得清洁和现代能源技术的可持续发展目标 7 一致，本研究考察了电力供应、人类发展指数、政治制度环境、收入水平和收入不平等之间的关系。我们在 1990 年至 2017 年在撒哈拉以南非洲地区采用了具有 Driscoll-Kraay 标准误差的非参数回归技术。研究表明，收入不平等对电力供应有负面影响，而收入水平和人类发展对电力供应有积极影响。改善撒哈拉以南非洲的政治制度环境对于确保获得清洁和现代电力至关重要。政治制度对收入不平等的负面影响意味着良好的治理环境减少了收入不平等。收入不平等被发现会减少人类发展，因此，减少贫困的社会保护政策对于最大限度地减少贫困的脆弱性至关重要。该研究强调，有效促进劳动力市场和提高管理失业、体弱和残疾的社会经济能力将减少收入不平等，从而促进人类发展。