Journal ​publications
Cooking, health, and daily exposure to pollution spikes
by S. Berkouwer and J. T. Dean. 
Conditionally accepted, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 
[​NBER Working Paper #31614] [Online Appendix] ​[Data & Instruments] [Disclosure statement]
Abstract: ​Many routine daily activities—such as cooking and commuting—cause large recurring pollution spikes that may impact health without significantly affecting average exposure. We study pollution spikes by combining experimental variation in cooking technology with high-frequency data on individual pollution exposure and time-use in Kenya. Improved cookstoves reduce PM2.5 spikes while cooking by 51.3µg/m3 (41%) and cause a 0.24 standard deviation reduction in self-reported respiratory symptoms. However, even after more than three years of daily use, we find no clinical health improvements, possibly because we detect no impact on average exposure. Clinical health improvements may require reductions in ambient concentrations.
Money or Power? Choosing Covid-19 Aid in Kenya
​by S. Berkouwer, P. Biscaye, E. Hsu, O. Kim, K. Lee, E. Miguel, and C. Wolfram. 
Energy Economics (2023) ​​[Journal Link]
Abstract: In response to the Covid-19 crisis, 186 countries implemented direct cash transfers to households, and 181 introduced in-kind programs that lowered the cost of utilities such as electricity, water, transport, and mobile money. During times of crisis, do people prefer in-kind transfers or cash, and why? In this paper, we compare electricity transfers against a benchmark of cash transfers (mobile money) among 2000 rural and urban residents of Kenya with pre-paid electricity meter connections. We offer participants an incentivized choice between electricity transfers or mobile money, totaling approximately USD 10 to 15, and then implement their choice over three months. We generate three main findings. First, participants overwhelmingly prefer cash, with three-quarters of participants opting for mobile money even when offered electricity tokens with a cash value that is 40 percent higher, possibly due to the flexibility in expenditures or credit constraints. Second, despite relatively low baseline electricity consumption, preference for cash is slightly lower in rural areas, possibly due to higher transaction costs for purchasing electricity, lower mobile money penetration, or savings constraints. Third, electricity tokens transfers generate a larger increase in electricity consumption than equivalent cash transfers, suggesting a role for mental accounting; however, we estimate no impact of either electricity or cash transfers on a broad set of socioeconomic outcomes. These patterns suggest that mobile money transfers generate larger welfare gains than electricity credit, at least in settings with high mobile money penetration.
Credit, attention, and externalities in the adoption of energy efficient technologies by low-income households
​by S. Berkouwer and J. T. Dean. 
American Economic Review (2022) [​Journal Link] [Online Appendix] [Data & Instruments]
Abstract: We study an energy efficient charcoal cookstove in an experiment with 1,000 households in Nairobi. We estimate a 39 percent reduction in charcoal spending, which matches engineering estimates, generating a 295 percent annual return. Despite fuel savings of $237 over the stove’s  two-year lifespan—and $295 in emissions reductions—households are only willing to pay $12. Drawing attention to energy savings does not increase demand. However, a loan more than doubles willingness to pay: credit constraints prevent adoption of privately optimal technologies. Energy efficient technologies could drive sustainable development by slowing greenhouse emissions while saving households money.
Disbursing emergency relief through utilities: Evidence from Ghana
​by S. Berkouwer, P. Biscaye, S. Puller, and C. Wolfram. 
Journal of Development Economics (2022) ​[Journal Link] [Online Appendix] [Data]
Abstract: We provide descriptive evidence on the challenges in efficiently, effectively, and fairly distributing in-kind electricity transfers to households. We collect panel data from 1200 households eligible for Ghana’s COVID-19 electricity relief program. Distributing relief through electricity transfers enabled an immediate response to the crisis. Theoretical efficiency concerns are mitigated because transfers were inframarginal and storable for most households. Transfer receipt may have increased support for the governing party, possibly due to obfuscation of the program’s financial burden. However, the program was regressive in design, and implementation challenges– delays, technological hurdles, information constraints, and the targeting of meters rather than households– add to inefficiency and regressivity. Households receiving the least average relief are those who use less electricity, pay a landlord or other intermediary for electricity, or share an electricity meter—characteristics of low-income households. Program implementation challenges were just as important as design features in determining program costs and benefits.
Electric heating and the effects of temperature on household electricity consumption in South Africa
​by S. Berkouwer.
The Energy Journal (2020) [​​​Journal Link] [Executive summary]
Abstract:  ​How does temperature affect household energy demand in low-income countries? This paper uses 132,375,282 hourly electricity consumption observations from 5,975 households in South Africa to estimate the causal effects of short-term temperature changes on household electricity consumption. The estimates flexibly identify a constant log-linear temperature response—for every 1°C increase in temperature, electricity consumption decreases by 4.1% among temperatures below the heating threshold but increases by 8.1% among temperatures above the cooling threshold. This relationship is driven more strongly by seasonal than hourly temperature changes. Holding all else constant, a 3.25°C increase in temperatures would reduce electricity consumption by 1,093.4 kWh (6.2%) per year per household. Widespread use of electric heating due to limited residential gas heating infrastructure likely drives this. These results point to important regional heterogeneity in how temperature increases may affect household energy demand in the coming decades.
Working papers
​The distribution of power: Decentralization and favoritism in energy infrastructure
​by C. Wolfram, E. Hsu, S. Berkouwer, O. Kim, F. Vial, and E. Miguel.
Submitted. [On-line Appendix]
Contracting structures in public procurement: Evidence from donor-funded electrification in Kenya
​by C. Wolfram, E. Miguel, E. Hsu, and S. Berkouwer. 
Submitted. [NBER Working Paper #30948] [Online Appendix]
​Voltage quality and economic activity
​by S. Berkouwer, P. Biscaye, M. Mikdash, S. Puller, and C. Wolfram. 
​Submitted. [On-line Appendix] [Pre-analysis plan]
Additionality and impact in climate finance: Cookstoves can abate CO2e at less than $8 per ton
by S. Berkouwer and J. Dean 
Submitted.
Other work
Measuring Grid Reliability in Ghana
by N. Klugman, J. Adkins, S. Berkouwer, K. Abrokwah, M. Podolsky, P. Pannuto, C. Wolfram, J. Taneja, and P. Dutta. 
In: Introduction to Development Engineering, edited by T. Madon et al. 2023. Springer (Open Access). [Journal Link] 

​Hardware, apps, and surveys at scale: Insights from measuring grid reliability in Accra, Ghana
by N. Klugman, J. Adkins, S. Berkouwer, K. Abrokwah, I. Bobashev, P. Pannuto, M. Podolsky, A. Suseno, R. Thatte, C. Wolfram, J. Taneja, and P. Dutta.
ACM COMPASS '19 (Conference on Computing and Sustainable Societies). July 2019. [ACM Link]
​Secondary School Electrification in Western Kenya
by S. Berkouwer, K. Lee, and M. Walker.
​AidData Working Paper #57. 2018.

Homosexuality in Sudan and Egypt: Stories of Struggle for Survival
​by S. Berkouwer, A. Sultan, and S. Yehia.
LGBTQ Policy Journal. 2014. Vol 4, p66-76. [Journal link]