This new IGC blog describes evidence from a rural electrification project in Peru which suggests that access to energy may be an effective tool in closing the gender gap, affecting both wages and occupational choice.

Between 2007 and 2010, the Peruvian Government invested around US$657 million in 567 electrification projects, reaching 412 districts in rural Peru and almost doubling electricity coverage in those areas. In a study on the effect of electrification on employment, Rosamaría Dasso and Fernando Fernandez find that female wages rise by 30% in areas that receive electricity, as women move out of agriculture and into more productive occupations.

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This blog has been published by The International Growth Centre. Authors: Rosamaría Dasso & Fernando Fernandez