Experimental Design
Villages were randomized into four experimental arms, with one quarter of villages assigned to each arm. Our initial sample of villages were all 193 villages in four Districts in which new electrification was planned under the EAQIP project.
(No Readyboards/No SHS) The first arm is a control arm, in which electrification proceeds as under the status quo.
(Readyboards/No SHS) In the second arm, all vulnerable households who were not already electrified (whether through a grid connection or SHS) were offered a free readyboard (if they had not already interally wired at the time of the offer) and installation, which substitutes for the need to do costly internal wiring.
(No Readyboards/SHS) In the third arm, all households in the village are offered SHS at a 90% subsidy. SHS subsidy implementation begins after readyboard implementation is completed.
(Readyboards/SHS) In the fourth arm, both readyboard program and SHS subsidies are implemented.
Randomization was stratified by lot (the unit at which new electrification was planned, with five lots total) and village size (above and below median within lot, yielding ten randomization strata). 48/48/48/49 villages were assigned to the four arms.
12 villages in one District were dropped from electrification under EAQIP, leaving 181 villages. 1 village was fully resettled before the listing, reducing our final sample to 180 villages. These villages had been assigned 46/45/45/44 to the four arms.