Energy Access and Growth: Policy Insights for A Sustainable South Asia

Abstract

Energy poverty is a major issue that continues to impede sustainable economic growth especially in South Asia where the disparity in accessing energy is persistent, acting as a constant deterrent to the prospects of development. This paper analyses the multidimensional association among energy poverty and economic development that comprises macroeconomic mediators in a comparative regional approach. The panel analysis will use the treatment effects data between 2000 and 2023 and a composite energy index; the Generalized Random Forest (GRF) approach will be used to inform the heterogeneity of treatment effects across South Asian nations. The results provide solid arguments that energy poverty has a significant negative impact on sustainable economic development, and the treatment effect is -1.41. Markedly, treatment effects under conditioning are also negative in all subgroups, which proves the idea that no such county or institution can benefit from a higher degree of deprivation.  The mediator that prevails is governance, which has more impact on the strength of the outcome than inflation, and this is where institutional quality comes in to decrease the adverse effect of energy poverty. This study does not limit the debate on traditional households or macro-level evaluation but rather links access to energy to the wider aspects of governance, social equity, and environmental sustainability. Findings highlight that energy poverty is an injustice in structural development, which enhances inequality and restricts resilience, as opposed to a technical shortage. There should be a two-fold agenda of policy implications in both investing in clean and decentralized energy infrastructure and restructuring governance reforms to align to equal accessibility and environmental sustainability. This research can benefit the theory and policy by offering an in-depth conceptual framework of the developmental implications of energy poverty, presenting new perspectives on energy poverty and sustainable development to the South Asian nations, and broadening the concept of energy poverty and sustainable development across the globe.