How Do Electricity Shortages Affect Industry? Evidence from India

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2016
Volume: 106
Issue: 3
Pages: 587-624

Authors (3)

Hunt Allcott (not in RePEc) Allan Collard-Wexler (not in RePEc) Stephen D. O'Connell (Emory University)

Score contribution per author:

2.681 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We estimate the effects of electricity shortages on Indian manufacturers, instrumenting with supply shifts from hydroelectric power availability. We estimate that India's average reported level of shortages reduces the average plant's revenues and producer surplus by 5 to 10 percent, but average productivity losses are significantly smaller because most inputs can be stored during outages. Shortages distort the plant size distribution, as there are significant economies of scale in generator costs and shortages more severely affect plants without generators. Simulations show that offering interruptible retail electricity contracts could substantially reduce the impacts of shortages. (JEL D24, L60, L94, O13, O14, Q41)

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:106:y:2016:i:3:p:587-624
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-26