Rural Electrification and Human Capital Accumulation: Evidence from China

I study the long-term impact of rural electrification on human capital accumulation in China. Using birth-cohort data from the 2005 1 per cent National Population Sample Survey, I employ a cohort difference-in-differences design and find that rural electrification increases educational attainment by approximately 0.38 years. In addition, it increases the probability of completing primary school, junior high school, and senior high school by 2.9, 2.4, and 3.6 percentage points, respectively. The results suggest that improvements in household living conditions and educational environments are potential mechanisms through which electrification affects human capital outcomes. Overall, the findings provide evidence that rural electrification has persistent positive effects on human capital accumulation.