Reproducibility package for Financial Inclusion And Electricity Uptake: Global Evidence And District-Level Mechanisms
Reference ID
RR_WLD_2026_630
Author(s)
Megan Lang, Alpha Ly
Collections
Metadata
Created on
Jun 03, 2026
Last modified
Jun 03, 2026
Page views
7
Overview
Abstract
Even as governments push to build infrastructure to achieve universal access to electricity, demand-side barriers constrain uptake where infrastructure already exists. This paper assess the impact of the quasi-experimental introduction of mobile money on electricity adoption by households. Leveraging a cross-country panel of 180 non-OECD countries, we first employ a heterogeneous difference-in-differences estimator to document a significant and positive association between mobile money introduction and electrification, particularly in rural areas. To overcome identification challenges and understand mechanisms, we complement this with a granular district-level analysis of 33 sub-Saharan African countries that leverages differential sub-national mobile network coverage. We find that mobile money access improves district-level power uptake by around 24% relative to the similar districts without mobile money access. We rule out supply-side infrastructure expansion as the primary driver. Instead, evidence suggests demand-side channels–specifically reduced financial frictions and increased remittances–drive this relationship. Furthermore, we highlight the enabling role of mobile network coverage and the detrimental impact of mobile money taxes on electrification efforts.
Reproducibility Package
Scripts
File name
RR_WLD_2026_630
Zip package
RR_WLD_2026_630.zip
Title
Reproducibility package for Financial Inclusion And Electricity Uptake: Global Evidence And District-Level Mechanisms
Date
2026-05
Dependencies
Stata dependencies are listed in the ado folder.
Instructions
See README in reproducibility package.
Notes
Computational reproducibility verified by Development Impact (DECDI) Analytics team, World Bank.
Source code repository
| Repository name | URI |
|---|---|
| Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank) | https://reproducibility.worldbank.org |
Reproducibility
Technology environment
Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:
• OS: Windows 11 Enterprise
• Processor: INTEL(R) XEON(R) PLATINUM 8562Y+ 2.80 GHz (2 processors)
• Memory available: 32.0 GB
• Software version: Stata 19.5 MP
Technology requirements
Run time: ~1 hour.
Reproduction instructions
To reproduce the findings in this paper, a replicator must:
- Secure Access to Data: Access the datasets not included in the package. See the Datasets section for more details.
- Run the Package: Update the working directory in line 16 of the do-file
Replicationdo file, and run it.
Since some of the original data cannot be redistributed, the package includes the outputs produced by the authors, which can be used to review the results presented in the paper.
Data
Datasets
Name
GSMA Mobile Money Metrics
Note
Data accessed in 2023. Filename: Mobi_money.xlsx. File location: Global level\Bases_Used and District level\4_Country_Bases_Used. The Mobile Money Regulatory Index dataset is no longer available on the website but is included in the reproducibility package.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Open access
Data URL
https://www.gsma.com/mobile-money-metrics/
Citation
GSMA. GSMA Mobile Money Metrics [dataset]. Available at https://www.gsma.com/mobile-money-metrics/. Accessed 2023.
Name
World Development Indicators
Note
Filename: P_Data_Extract_From_WDI_2.xlsx, P_Data_Extract_From_WDI_2_female.xlsx. File location: Global level\Bases_Used and District level\4_Country_Bases_Used. Indicators used: Access to electricity, rural (% of rural population), Access to electricity, urban
(% of urban population), Access to electricity (% of population), Personal remittances, received (billions current USD), Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (% of GDP), Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP), General government final
consumption expenditure (% of GDP), External debt stocks (% of GNI), Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %), Inflation, GDP deflator: linked series (annual %), GDP(constant 2015 USD), GDP per capita (constant 2015 USD), Labor tax and contributions (% of commercial profits), Inflation, consumer prices (annual %).
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0)
License URL
https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/public-licenses
Data URL
https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators
Citation
World Bank. 2023. World Development Indicators [dataset]. Available at https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators. Accessed 2023.
Name
International Energy Statistics
Note
Filename: us_eia_final.xlsx. File located in Global level\Bases_Used and District level\4_Country_Bases_Used. Indicators used: Electricity installed capacity (million kW) and electricity net generation (billion kWh). Years: 1990-2021.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
EIA Copyrights and Reuse Policy
License URL
https://www.eia.gov/about/copyrights_reuse.php
Data URL
https://www.eia.gov/international/data/world
Citation
U.S. Energy Information Administration. International Energy Statistics [dataset]. Available at https://www.eia.gov/international/data/world/. Accessed 2023.
Name
World Inequality Database (WID)
Note
Filename: wealth_top10.dta. Located in Global level\Bases_Used. Indicator used: Wealth inequality, Top 10% share. Years: 1990-2021.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
World Inequality Database
License URL
https://wid.world/wid-world-2/
Data URL
https://wid.world/
Citation
World Inequality Lab. World Inequality Database [dataset]. Indicator accessed: Wealth inequality, Top 10% share. Available at https://wid.world/. Accessed 2023.
Name
Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)
Note
File Location: District level\1_DHS_Raw. Access instructions: Select "Register", then "Create New Project", choosing the SSA region and the period 2003-2021. Choose "Download Manager - Download Multiple Surveys", then select "HR - Household Recode", "PR - Household Member (Person) Recode", "IR - Individual Recode (Women)", and "MR - Men's Recode". Check all countries, select the Stata system file, build the URL file list, and Copy and paste the list into your download manager (ours is Chrono) to download the datasets. Download HR, IR, MR, and PR recode files from the given URL. Do not rename the files, just save them in the folder (District level\1_DHS_Raw).
Access policy
Data is publicly available but does not allow redistribution and is not included in the reproducibility package.
License
DHS Terms of Use
License URL
https://dhsprogram.com/data/terms-of-use.cfm
Data URL
https://dhsprogram.com/data/dataset_admin/index.cfm
Citation
ICF International. Demographic and Health Surveys [dataset]. Available at :https://dhsprogram.com/data/dataset_admin/index.cfm. Accessed 2023.
Name
Mobile Coverage Explorer Data
Note
File location: District level\5_Network_data. Access instructions: Download the GSM (1998–2020), 3G (2006–2020), and 4G (2013–2020) datasets from the given URL above. Extract the .dbf databases using QGIS and save them following this naming convention: GID55_Global_3G_YYYY, ADM1_Global_3G_YYYY, ADM2_Global_3G_YYYY, where YYYY is the corresponding year. Apply the same procedure to GSM and 4G.
Access policy
Data access requires purchase or human approval and is not included in the reproducibility package.
License
Mobile Coverage Explorer Data Technical Information
License URL
https://www.collinsbartholomew.com/mobile-network-coverage-map-data-technical-detail/
Data URL
https://www.collinsbartholomew.com/mobile-network-coverage-map-data-technical-detail/
Citation
Collins Bartholomew. Mobile Coverage Explorer Dataset [dataset]. Available at https://www.collinsbartholomew.com/mobile-coverage-explorer/. Accessed 2023.
Name
Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11
Note
File location: District level\5_Network_POP_data. Access instructions: Download the population density raster files from the URL above (2000–2020). Extract them at the GID55 level (55x55 grid) using QGIS, then save each file following this naming convention: CEDAC_POPYYYY, where YYYY is the corresponding year. Save a copy of the network data processed above at the GID55 level (55x55 grid) only, using the following naming convention: Global_GSM_YYYY, Global_3G_YYYY, Global_4G_YYYY, where YYYY is the corresponding year.
Access policy
Data is publicly available but does not allow redistribution and is not included in the reproducibility package.
License
NASA Earth Data Data Access
License URL
https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/data/catalog/sedac-ciesin-sedac-gpwv4-popdens-r11-4.11
Data URL
https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/data/catalog/sedac-ciesin-sedac-gpwv4-popdens-r11-4.11
Citation
Center For International Earth Science Information Network-CIESIN-Columbia University. (2017). Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11 (Version 4.11) [dataset]. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). https://doi.org/10.7927/H49C6VHW. Accessed 2023.
Name
World Bank Country and Lending Groups Classification
Note
Data accessed in 2023. Filename: Region_IncomeGp.dta. File location: Global level\Bases_Used
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)
License URL
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Data URL
https://ddh-openapi.worldbank.org/resources/DR0095333/download
Citation
World Bank. World Bank Country and Lending Groups Classification [dataset]. Available at https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups. Accessed 2023.
Name
Country classifications based on African Union and OECD
Note
Data accessed in 2023. Filename: Monde.xls. File location: Global level\Bases_Used. Monde.xls consolidates four country-level dummy classifications: Afrique – African countries (See African Union Member States: https://au.int/en/member_states/countryprofiles2), OCDE – OECD member states, reflecting membership as of 2016–early 2018 (See OECD “Members and Partners”: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/members-partners.html), PED (Pays en développement) – developing economies, operationally defined as the complement of OECD membership, Havens – tax havens from the OECD list of 2 April 2009 (See Table 1 in Jackson, J.K. (2010), The OECD Initiative on Tax Havens, CRS Report R40114: https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R40114.html).
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Open access
Citation
Authors' compilation. 2026. Country classifications based on African Union and OECD [dataset]. Based on African Union Member States, OECD Members and partners, OECD PED classification and, OECD Initiative on Tax Havens. Accessed 2023.
Name
Demographic and Health Surveys Sub-Saharan Africa survey clusters (2003–2021)
Note
Filenames: SSA_DHSClusters_Grids_ADM_SHPiso.dbf (and accompanying .shp / .shx / .prj). File location: District level\6_SSA_DHSClusters_Grids_ADM_SHPiso. Used to create a merged shapefile called SSA_DHSClusters_Grids_ADM_SHPiso.dbf, district-level analysis dataset SSA_Clusters_Grids.dta and produce Figure 5. See README for further details.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
DHS Terms of Use
License URL
https://dhsprogram.com/data/terms-of-use.cfm
Data URL
https://dhsprogram.com/data/dataset_admin/index.cfm
Citation
ICF International. Demographic and Health Surveys Sub-Saharan Africa survey clusters (2003–2021) [dataset]. Available at :https://dhsprogram.com/data/dataset_admin/index.cfm. Accessed 2023.
Name
GADM administrative boundaries: Africa
Note
File location: District level\4_Country_Bases_Used\Africa_shp and District level\7_MoMo_Repository\Figures_Tables\Figure 5\shapefiles. Used to create a merged shapefile called SSA_DHSClusters_Grids_ADM_SHPiso.dbf, district-level analysis dataset SSA_Clusters_Grids.dta and produce Figure 5. See README for further details.
Access policy
Data is publicly available but does not allow redistribution and is not included in the reproducibility package.
License
GADM license
License URL
https://gadm.org/license.html
Data URL
https://gadm.org/download_world.html
Citation
GADM. GADM administrative boundaries: Africa. Available at https://gadm.org/download_world.html. Accessed 2023.
Name
PRIO-GRID cell shapefile
Note
File name: priogrid_cellshp. Used to create a merged shapefile called SSA_DHSClusters_Grids_ADM_SHPiso, district-level analysis dataset SSA_Clusters_Grids.dta and produce Figure 5. See README for further details.
Access policy
Data is publicly available but not included in the reproducibility package due to file size constraints.
License
Open access
License URL
https://grid.prio.org/#/extensions
Data URL
https://grid.prio.org/
Citation
Tollefsen, Andreas Forø; Håvard Strand & Halvard Buhaug (2012) PRIO-GRID: A unified spatial data structure. Journal of Peace Research, 49(2): 363-374. doi:10.1177/0022343311431287. Accessed 2023.
Name
World Bank Official Boundaries (ADM0, 10m generalization)
Note
File location: Global level\wb_countries_admin0_10m. Downloaded from https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315166.s003 (Supporting Information of the PLOS ONE article).
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
License URL
https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/public-licenses?fragment=cc
Data URL
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315166.s003
Citation
World Bank. World Bank Official Boundaries. Washington, DC [dataset]. Redistributed in: Chen S., Piao X., Xie J., Managi S. (2023). Accessed 2023.
Data statement
Some data is limited-access and has not been included in the reproducibility package. For more details, refer to the README file.
Description
Output
Type
Working Paper
Title
Financial Inclusion And Electricity Uptake: Global Evidence And District-Level Mechanisms
Authors
Megan Lang and Alpha Ly
Description
Policy Research Working Papers (PRWP)
Authors
| Author | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Megan Lang | World Bank | mlang@worldbank.org |
| Alpha Ly | ENSAI - CREST | alpha.ly@dauphine.eu |
Date of production
2026-05-07
Scope and coverage
Geographic locations
| Location | Code |
|---|---|
| World | WLD |
Keywords
Mobile Money
Financial Inclusion
Electrification
Demand-Side Factors
Topics
Disclaimer
Disclaimer
The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.
Access and rights
License
| Name | URI |
|---|---|
| MIT License | https://opensource.org/license/mit |
| World Bank IGO Rider | https://github.com/worldbank/metadata-editor/blob/main/WB-IGO-RIDER.md |
Contacts
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Megan Lang | World Bank | mlang@worldbank.org |
| Reproducibility WBG | World Bank | reproducibility@worldbank.org |
Information on metadata
Producers
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproducibility WBG | DECDI | World Bank - Development Impact Department | Verification and preparation of metadata |
Date of Production
2026-05-07
Document version
1