Power to the people: The relationship between electricity and economic development [infographic]

In a study with implications on Ghana's twin energy and economic crises, a recent analysis by the MIT Technology Review has identified a strong relationship between electricity access and per-capita income.

Focusing on the percentage of households with access to electricity in India, the study authors demonstrated that India's commercial powerhouses, such as Dehil and Gujarat, have reliable electrical grids fed by a variety of solar, nuclear and coal-fired sources. By contrast, the province of Bihar, in which only 20% of the population has access to electric power, had the lowest per-capita income in the analysis. It's worth noting that in U.S. dollars the economies of Ghana and India have tracked very closely in recent decades. 

The province of West Bengal provides a fascinating parallel with the nation of Ghana, which despite having electricity access just north of 50 percent, has maintained a relatively healthy per-capita income, owing to significant agricultural exports. The role of agro business in poverty reduction and raising Ghana to the level of a 'middle-income' nation has been well documented. That said, the World Bank has identified dumsor as the second most detrimental headwind on the economy, exacerbating the spiraling inflation and steady declines in GDP.   

As this MIT analysis shows, without proper investments in a diversified electrical infrastructure that meets the needs of the people, 'middle-income' could represent Ghana's ceiling.