Perceptions and acceptability of electricity theft: Towards better public service provision
| Autor: | Kanika Balani, Kapardhi Bharadwaj, Jason Chun Yu Wong, Karthik Ganesan, Johannes Urpelainen, Brian Blankenship |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Economics and Econometrics
Mains electricity Sociology and Political Science Punishment 050204 development studies media_common.quotation_subject 05 social sciences Geography Planning and Development Developing country Development Energy policy Odds Vignette 0502 economics and business Quality (business) Public service Business 050207 economics Marketing media_common |
| Zdroj: | World Development. 140:105301 |
| ISSN: | 0305-750X |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105301 |
| Popis: | In many developing countries, theft remains a significant obstacle to ensuring proper public service provision and access. We argue that social acceptability of theft constitutes an understudied barrier to curbing power theft. Using a conjoint experiment, we study perceptions of theft in the form of using illegal wires, katiya, among rural and urban households in Uttar Pradesh, India (n = 1800). Social acceptability of theft is influenced by the income and electricity supply quality contexts of offenders. For a 1000-rupee (approx. 15 USD) income difference between hypothetical vignette agents, the odds of choosing a higher acceptability rating for an offender increases by 11%. One fewer hour of electricity supply received by the vignette person would increase the acceptability of their theft activity by 4%. The majority of respondents chose a warning as the appropriate punishment severity; income and supply quality distinguish the odds of choosing higher punishment categories. While there exists a sense of social reprimand for stealing power, desired punishment is nuanced and context-dependent. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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