Nicaragua paper of the day (electrification)

This paper shows that rural electrification is associated with big changes in the time use of men and women in Nicaragua, even in the absence of labor-saving appliances. Electricity is shown to increase the propensity of rural Nicaraguan women to work outside the home by about 23%, but to have no impact on male employment. These findings suggest significant potential benefits to rural electrification that are not generally captured in cost–benefit analyses, such as greater women’s earnings and reduced deforestation.

That is from this paper by Grogan & Sadanand (March 2013). A draft (May 2012) is here. 

From the conclusions:

There is a strong negative association between electricity in the household and time spent in family agricultural activities or in firewood collection. P. 18.