Essays on Energy Reforms, Regulation and Institutions

Abstract Essays on Energy Reforms, Regulation and Institutions Mahmud Ibrahim Imam This thesis contents a doctoral research that examines whether implementations of the reforms have succeeded in reducing the negative influence of weak institutions on Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries’ electricity sector performance. Chapter 1 of the thesis examines how corruption contributes to low levels of economic development of SSA countries, defines the concept of corruption and discusses its major determinants as it relates to the region. By using a panel data on 48 SSA covering the period 2002 to 2013, chapter 2 investigates how corruption could negatively affect electricity sector performance of SSA countries, and how this performance effects of corruption would be mitigated or amplified by implementations of electricity sector reform policies. The findings show that corruption can significantly reduce technical efficiency of the sector and constrain the efforts to increase access to electricity and national income. However, these adverse effects of corruption are reduced when independent regulatory agencies are established, and privatisation is implemented. Chapter 3 extents the findings of chapter 2 by using data on 45 SSA governments from 2000 to 2015 to investigate the ideological differences in the effect of independent sector regulation on access to electricity and installed capacity. The findings suggest that independent regulation in left-wing governments deteriorates both installed capacity and electricity access. However, independent regulation in right-wing governments improves installed capacity and has no significant impact on electricity access. Chapter 4 uses data on 49 SSA countries from 2002 to 2013 to examine the impact of electricity access on human development index (HDI) and its three components (health, education, and income) post the implementations of electricity sector reforms and other policies by SSA countries. The findings indicate that increased access to electricity has positively boosted human development. Similar results are found on the impact of electricity access on the three components of HDI.