The great equalizer: Inequality in tribal energy access and policies to address it

Amidst a general increase in household electricity access across the world, some vulnerable communities stand at risk of being left behind. As a result, electricity inequality can be increasing even in countries in which access improves on average. We explore this question in the context of Jharkhand, India, which is characterized by its large tribal populations. Using new household survey data, we document two findings. First, tribal households are much more likely to suffer from poor electricity access. Electrification rates are about 11 percentage points lower than the general population (adjusting for a range of confounding factors) (95% CI: [-21, -1]). Likewise, tribal households own fewer appliances than their general population counterpart: the capacity of their appliances is 168 W smaller (95% CI: [-42, -295]) than that of the general population. Second, aggressive public policy can reduce electricity inequality. We show that tribal households were much more likely to be targeted by Saubhagya, a government electrification scheme, than the rest of the population, with estimates ranging from 11 (95% CI: [-2; 23]) to 22 percent (95% CI: [12; 32]). Public policy could thus, under favorable conditions and when designed appropriately, be an effective tool to combat energy inequality.