What?s new in the drivers of electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa?

This study examines the drivers of electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa in 48 chosen countries from 1995 to 2019, accounting for endogeneity of variables using a new novel xtdpdgmm command that implements two-step system GMM (Generalized Method of Mo-ment) estimators. The findings show that in sub-Saharan Africa, domestic credit to the pri-vate sector and the food production index are the two most important factors influencing access to electricity. Domestic credits to the private sector and food production are statisti-cally significant and have a positive impact on increasing regional electricity access. Thus, having access to credit from financial institutions is crucial for many households in or-der to have access to electricity. The result reveals that agricultural productivity improves food security by increasing access to electricity. Our study recommends that governments in sub-Saharan Africa should boost agricultural production and provide a favorable envi-ronment for the banking sector and other microcredit institutions to finance electrifica-tion initiatives. In order to improve the region's access to electricity, financial institutions, governments, and donor funding should be encouraged to finance small-scale renewable energy projects. Thus, to lower the cost of electrification in sub-Saharan Africa, increas-ing off-grid financing should be prioritized. These findings have significant implications for sub-Saharan Africa and other developing countries.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of African Institute of Mathematical Sciences / Next Einstein Initiative. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )