Pushing on a String? Price and Enforcement Interventions in Pakistan’s Power Sector
Research project · Randomised experiments · Pakistan
Abstract
Weak payment enforcement can undermine electricity access by reducing utility revenue and investment. We conduct two randomised experiments with government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, where non-payment and theft are widespread.
The first intervention uses trusted religious institutions to communicate messages about electricity payment and theft, testing whether local messengers can shift social norms where formal enforcement is limited. The second varies financial incentives to estimate demand for billed and unbilled electricity. Together, the experiments quantify the fiscal value and distributional consequences of price- and enforcement-based reforms.
Current draft available on request — t.dobermann@lse.ac.uk