Explaining the energy mix in China’s electricity projects under the belt and road initiative

This paper explains the energy mix of China’s overseas electricity investments across Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) recipient countries. We focus on Indonesia and Pakistan. Our research is based on both newly gathered project-level data and in-depth interviews with stakeholders of Chinese-backed power plants in Indonesia and Pakistan. We examine (1) why Chinese actors are involved in renewable power generation in Pakistan and not in Indonesia, and (2) why Chinese-backed coal-fired projects in Pakistan are cleaner than in Indonesia. We argue that variations along the three dimensions–scope, governance regime, and issue linkage–lead to different energy mixes in Chinese-invested power plants across BRI countries. This framework specifies how supply and demand factors interact across multiple levels regarding the formulation and implementation of China’s overseas electricity projects. Our findings shed new light on the environmental implications of BRI projects and the dynamics of renewable energy development in emerging markets.</p

Economics of household technology adoption in developing countries: evidence from solar technology adoption in rural India

Innovation is one of the most important drivers of economic development. Even in developing countries, households have access to a wide array of new technologies. However, factors affecting households’ technology adoption decisions remain poorly understood. Using data on solar microgrid adoption from rural India, we investigate the determinants of household technology adoption. We offer all households identical solar products to avoid bias from product differentiation. Households pay a monthly fee for technology use, allowing us to abstract away from credit constraints as a barrier to adoption. The results show that household expenditures and savings as well as the household head’s entrepreneurial attitude are strong predictors of adoption. In contrast, past fuel expenditures, risk acceptance, and community trust are not associated with technology adoption decisions. These findings suggest new directions for research on the microeconomics of household technology adoption, which is critical for sustainable development among the poor in developing countries

Criminal politicians and socioeconomic development: evidence from rural India

Although it seems intuitively clear that candidate quality provides a critical pillar of democratic governance, the consequences of electing low-quality politicians remain unclear. Combining census data and election results, we conduct a regression discontinuity analysis to examine the socioeconomic effects of criminal politicians in India. We find that the election of state legislators with criminal charges can exacerbate household poverty in a village as household electrification and literacy rates both decrease when criminal candidates win close elections against non-criminal ones. In contrast, the presence of criminal politicians does not have a conclusive negative effect on the supply of local infrastructures, such as paved roads and power grids. These results highlight the importance of differentiating between different types of policy outcomes. Rent-seeking politicians will engage in local infrastructural projects, but they may pay little attention to these projects’ contribution to poverty reduction

Valence electronic structure and photofragmentation of 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (CF3-CH2F)

The electronic structure and fragmentation of the hydrofluorocarbon compound 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (CF3-CH2F) were studied using spectroscopical methods and quantum chemical calculations. Valence photoelectron spectra and the ionic fragmentation products were recorded with synchrotron radiation in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) region. The geometric and electronic structures of the CF3-CH2F molecule were calculated using the complete active space perturbation theory of second order. The calculated vertical ionization energies were used to interpret the experimental photoelectron spectrum. VUV photodissociation of the sample molecule was studied with photoelectron-photoion coincidence spectroscopy. Coincident ion yields are shown for several cations as a function of electron binding energy. The experimental data are discussed in comparison with theory and previous work

Inequality in policy implementation: caste and electrification in rural India

We examine unequal outcomes in the implementation of India's national rural electrification program in Uttar Pradesh. We ask two questions: (1) to what extent did Dalits, the lowest group in India's caste hierarchy, receive less attention when the state electrified rural communities? (2) Was BSP, the state's Dalit party, able to reduce this inequality? Using data from a hundred thousand villages, we provide robust evidence for unequal outcomes. Villages inhabited solely by Dalits were 20 percentage points less likely to be covered by the program than villages without any Dalits. Moreover, a regression discontinuity analysis shows that the electoral success of BSP failed to reduce such differences. These results highlight the magnitude and persistence of caste inequality in the implementation of democratic public policy, despite political representation

Size selective spectroscopy of Se microclusters

The electronic structure and photofragmentation in outer and inner valence regions of Se-n (n <= 8) clusters produced by direct vacuum evaporation have been studied with size-selective photoelectron-photoion coincidence technique by using vacuum-ultraviolet synchrotron radiation. The experimental ionization potentials of these clusters were extracted from the partial ion yield measurements. The calculations for the possible geometrical structures of the Se-n microclusters have been executed. The ionization energies of the clusters have been calculated and compared with the experimental results. In addition, theoretical fragment ion appearance energies were estimated. The dissociation energies of Se-n clusters were derived from the recurrent relation between the gas phase enthalpies of the formation of corresponding cationic clusters and experimental ionization energies. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4737633

Incorporating political-feasibility concerns into the assessment of India's clean-air policies

Political-feasibility concerns are at the center of real-world air-pollution policymaking. Yet, these concerns are often not represented in leading decision-support tools that have been used for assessing policies' environmental impacts. Focusing on a wide range of clean-air policies in India, we assess their political-feasibility scores on the basis of public opinion, market, and institutional considerations and then incorporate these scores into the evaluation of environmental impacts by using an integrated assessment model (GAINS-South Asia). We demonstrate that although some policies with substantial potential to mitigate air pollution are also highly politically feasible (e.g., replacing solid fuels with cleaner fuels in households), others can be less politically feasible (e.g., banning agricultural waste burning). Because some clean-air policies co-reduce CO2 emissions and aerosols, considering varying degrees of political feasibility is particularly important in achieving air-pollution and climate objectives simultaneously because of its implications on the implementation scale and policy sequence