Abstract How beneficial is basic energy access – typically lighting and mobile charging – for rural households? Despite research on the economic impacts of basic energy access, few studies have investigated how it changes household behavior. Here we report results from a randomized controlled trial in rural Uttar Pradesh, India, which identifies the behavioral impacts of providing solar lanterns to households that normally rely on kerosene as their primary source of lighting. Eighty-nine of the 184 households participating in the study were given a free, high-quality solar lantern. Comparing changes in responses from the baseline questionnaire and an endline questionnaires administered six months later, we find that the lanterns reduced energy expenditures, improved lighting, improved satisfaction with lighting, more use of lighting for domestic activities (e.g., reading), and improved satisfaction with lighting for domestic activities. Overall, our results show that basic energy access can offer substantial benefits within the households, even if broader rural economic transformation is not plausible.

中文翻译：

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基本能源获取的行为影响：在印度农村使用太阳能灯进行的随机对照试验

摘要 基本能源接入（通常是照明和移动充电）对农村家庭有多大好处？尽管研究了基本能源获取的经济影响，但很少有研究调查它如何改变家庭行为。在这里，我们报告了在印度北方邦农村进行的随机对照试验的结果，该试验确定了向通常依赖煤油作为主要照明来源的家庭提供太阳能灯的行为影响。参与研究的 184 户家庭中有 8​​9 户免费获得了高质量的太阳能灯。比较基线问卷和 6 个月后管理的最终问卷的反应变化，我们发现灯笼减少了能量消耗，改善了照明，提高了对照明的满意度，更多地将照明用于家庭活动（例如阅读），并提高对家庭活动照明的满意度。总体而言，我们的结果表明，即使无法实现更广泛的农村经济转型，基本能源获取可以为家庭带来巨大收益。