Energy Access Project
Developing solutions to energy policy and market challenges in emerging economies
The More Choice, the Better? Evidence from Experimental Auctions in Rural Senegal
Economists generally believe that more choice is beneficial, yet bigger choice sets can impose opportunity, error and cognitive costs that lower demand. This working paper finds that expanded choice lowered willingness to pay for a more advanced but relatively unfamiliar cookstove, but had no effect for a simpler, locally-produced device.
STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES
Workstreams
Powering Productivity and Healthy Communities
Communities without access to sufficient, reliable energy face reduced economic and human capital development opportunities. We are demonstrating how differences in energy access translate into benefits for households and societies, discovering how households adapt to outages, and how power costs and efficiency programs impact productivity.
About the Energy Access Project
The Energy Access Project at Duke focuses on building knowledge and networks to inform key decision-making related to energy poverty. It brings world-class researchers to bear on the highest priority questions of the day and supports policy-makers, project developers, investors, civil society, and impacted communities in driving energy system development and transformation.
Photo credit: Faraz Usmani
Meet the Project Team
Get to know our team of researchers, policy experts, and closest collaborators.
Duke Partners
