Estimating the Social and Economic Impacts from Renewable Energy Developments in Emerging Energy Markets

It is both well-understood and well-documented that household-level energy access introduces numerous social and economic benefits, including financial savings from fuel switching, increased study time for students, and increased ability to conduct income-generating activities within the household. Energy access specifically from renewable sources not only presents benefits due solely to the access to electricity they provide, but their elimination of fossil-based energy sources presents additional environmental, social, economic, and health-related benefits. Using Multi-Tier Framework (MTF) survey data from Myanmar and Nepal, and a statistical technique called “propensity score matching” (PSM), we establish regression models for predicting the social and economic impact from a renewable energy development in both Myanmar and Nepal. Ultimately, this tool provides users with data-backed information regarding optimal placement of renewable energy developments within Nepal and Myanmar to maximize social and/or economic benefits.