Conceptualization and antecedents of productive use of electricity: A systematic literature review

Productive use of energy is recognized as a pathway to economic and sustainable development. Indeed, there has been deliberate effort to promote productive use of energy, particularly, electricity by policy makers and international organizations. However, limited understanding of what constitutes productive use and factors that potentially influence uptake of productive uses at micro level continue to undermine existing efforts to promote productive use of energy in developing countries. Using a systematic literature review approach, a total of 54 out of 997 articles were selected following the criteria for inclusion and exclusion for further analysis. We find that majority of studies define productive use of electricity as application of electricity energy services to activities that generate income or enhance productivity. Regarding conceptualization, we found that productive use of electricity is conceptualized along three dimensions, which are (1) improved performance of existing income generating activities, (2) use of modern electrical productive use appliances and (3) creation of new enterprises and job opportunities after electrification. Furthermore, the review found that majority of studies identify electricity related factors as important drivers of productive use of electricity. However, these should be bundled with other non-electricity related variables including financial, technological, human capabilities, institutional, infrastructural, social, demographic characteristics. The paper has also identified various research gaps that may inform future studies in productive use of electricity.