Powering development, stabilization and conservation? The impact of electricity roll-out by Virunga Alliance in Eastern Congo.

We measure the impact of electricity provision in Congolese communities nearby Virunga National Park, in North-Kivu, DR Congo. Impoverished by two decades of armed conflict, the communities complement their livelihoods with the park's resources to make ends meet. These resources are also illicitly exploited by at least eight armed groups that have their hide-outs within the park's boundaries. The electricity roll-out is implemented by Virunga Alliance, a public-private partnership that seeks to bring about security and conservation through development. According to Virunga's theory of change, electrification will spur development, which will in turn reduce the people's reliance on the park's resources as well as their support for, and participation in, rebel groups. The theory of change finds support in the literature, but needs further testing. To learn about the causal effect of electricity on economic development, security and conservation, we designed an impact evaluation that exploits the gradual roll-out of electricity, in combination with a difference-in-differences estimation. The treatment localities will be connected in the period 2019-2020; the control localities only from 2021 onwards.

Keywords:ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, NATURE CONSERVATION, ELECTRIFICATION, CONFLICTS

Disciplines:Economic development