Author: Thein Mwe Khin
AIT Library Call Number: AIT Thesis no.RD-19-01
Year: 2019
Academic Program: Regional and Rural Development Planning (RRDP)
Type: Thesis (M. Sc.) – Asian Institute of Technology, 2019
Examination Committee: Sylvia Maria Szabo (Chairperson); Abdul P. Salam, Takuji W. Tsusaka (Examination Committee Members)
Abstract: Access to electricity is one of the critical drivers of sustainable development and constitutes a basic requirement to improve the quality of life. In Myanmar, the current electrification rate is around 30 percent and the electricity consumption is approximately 140 kWh per capita per year, with numbers considerably lower in rural areas. Using primary survey data of 400 households from Inn Kone and Yone Seik villages in Aunglan Township, Magway region in Myanmar, this thesis analyzed the effects of rural electrification on households’ material well-being and agricultural and non-agricultural productivity. In addition to descriptive analysis, the study applied regression modeling to test the effect of access to electricity and sources of electricity on households’ material well-being and productivity of households in the study area. The results of the study showed that access to electricity and sources of electricity have a significant effect on households’ material well-being. In addition, access to electricity and sources of electricity were found to be associated with indicators of women’s empowerment. Finally, the study showed that while access to electricity had no significant effect on agricultural income, electricity access was found to be associated with non-agricultural income. The results of this theses yield important policy and programmatic implications for the well-being of local populations.
Scholarship Donor(s): Her Majestry the Queen’s Scholarships (Thailand)
Note: A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Regional and Rural Development Planning, School of Environment, Resources and Development
Advisory: Full-text is available at https://library.ait.ac.th/ (accessible to local ip address only)
