Peer-Reviewed Publications

Dai, C., McCord, R., Beach, K. B., Mahieu, A., Chilongo, T., Jumbe, C., & Jagger, P. (2026). Unlocking financial inclusion through solar technology adoption in Malawi. Energy Economics, 154, 109138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2026.109138

Mahieu, A., McCord, R., Beach, K. B., Dai, C., Chilongo, T., Jumbe, C., & Jagger, P. (2025). Can off-grid household solar provide sustainable energy for all? Adoption and sustained use of solar technologies in Malawi. Energy Research & Social Science, 127, 104249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2025.104249

Floess, E., Grieshop, A., Puzzolo, E., Pope, D., Leach, N., Smith, C. J., Gill-Wiehl, A., Landesman, K., & Bailis, R. (2023). Scaling up gas and electric cooking in low- and middle-income countries: Climate threat or mitigation strategy with co-benefits? Environmental Research Letters, 18(3), 034010. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acb501

Parsons, S., Tanner, K., Champion, W. and Grieshop, A., 2022. The effects of modified operation on emissions from a pellet-fed, forced-draft gasifier stove. Energy for Sustainable Development, 70, pp.259-271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2022.08.004

Aung, T., Jagger, P., Hlaing, K.T., Han, K.K. and Kobayashi, W., 2022. City living but still energy poor: Household energy transitions under rapid urbanization in Myanmar. Energy Research & Social Science, 85, p.102432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102432

Weyant, C.L., Amoah, A.B., Bittner, A., Pedit, J., Codjoe, S.N.A. and Jagger, P., 2022. Occupational Exposure and Health in the Informal Sector: Fish Smoking in Coastal Ghana. Environmental health perspectives, 130(1), p.017701. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP9873

Entwisle, B., 2021. Population responses to environmental change: looking back, looking forward. Population and Environment, 42(4), pp.431-444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-021-00382-w

Jeuland, M., Fetter, T.R., Li, Y., Pattanayak, S.K., Usmani, F., Bluffstone, R.A., Chávez, C., Girardeau, H., Hassen, S., Jagger, P. and Jaime, M.M., 2021. Is energy the golden thread? A systematic review of the impacts of modern and traditional energy use in low-and middle-income countries. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 135, p.110406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2020.110406

Wu, Y., Entwisle, B., Sinai, C. and Handa, S., 2021. Migration and fuel use in rural Zambia. Population and Environment, 43(2), pp.181-208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-021-00385-7.

Blog Posts

Jagger, P., Jumbe, C., Dai, C., McCord, R., Chilongo, T. 2026. “Solar power is taking off in Malawi: but poor households need financial help to make it work for them.” The Conversation Africa. https://theconversation.com/solar-power-is-taking-off-in-malawi-but-poor-households-need-financial-help-to-make-it-work-for-them-274824

Sinai, C., Fetter, R. 2021. “Solar technologies can speed up vaccine rollout in Africa. Here’s how. ” The Conversation Africa. https://theconversation.com/solar-technologies-can-speed-up-vaccine-rollout-in-africa-heres-how-157274

Fetter, R., Fuller, A., Porcaro, J., Sinai, C. 2020. “You can’t fight pandemics without power– electric power.” Brookings Institute Future Development Blog. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2020/06/05/you-cant-fight-pandemics-without-power-electric-power/

State of Knowledge Reports

The EPPSA team has compiled a concise summary on the state of energy access and research on energy poverty for each of the study countries.

Study Briefs

Zambia Clean Cooking Study

The Zambia Clean Cooking Study has been implemented by the EPPSA team to evaluate the impacts of two improved cookstoves in Lusaka, Zambia. Over two waves of data collection (2019 Baseline and 2021 Endline), over 1,600 households were surveyed. Datasets and publications are forthcoming.

Malawi Solar Home Systems Study

The Malawi Solar Home Systems Study has been implemented by the EPPSA team to evaluate the impacts of solar home system kits among rural households in Lilongwe District, Malawi. Over 1,300 households were surveyed over two waves of data collection (2022 Baseline and 2023 Endline). Datasets and publications are forthcoming.

Secondary Data Manual

Our team has gathered and cataloged population representative survey data, geospatial infrastructure data, and remotely sensed datasets from across southern Africa and sub-Saharan Africa more broadly. These datasets can be used to test hypotheses related to meso- and macro-level determinants of energy poverty and impacts of shocks or natural experiments, and to provide contextual information on how longer-term trends in population and environment dynamics are influencing energy poverty related outcomes. These datasets were produced and are owned by entities not associated with our project, so our aim is to produce a database that connects researchers to data that may be outside of their discipline.

The EPPSA Secondary Data Manual is a source of information about the different secondary datasets that have been gathered by our team from various sources. The datasets are organized into different categories and by data format. Over time, this manual will be updated with the most current version. In this document, you can find: what data our team currently has access to, for which countries and years, and how to access the datasets. Please email [email protected] if you have suggestions of datasets we should include or if you have any questions about data content, availability, or access.

RTI Internship Final Projects

Research Triangle International Summer Interns work with RTI staff either in the Research Triangle or placed in one of RTI’s international projects on some aspect of energy poverty, international development, impact evaluation, technology development, or related field. 

Summer 2018

Challenges in Natural Resources Management

Energy Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa

Pilot Study Assessing Household Air Pollution Reduction Using LPG Cook Stoves

Summer 2019

Off-Grid Solar Application in Ethiopia

Analysis and Validation of MicroPEM Data Files and Filter Optical Density Measurements

High-Speed Data Access and Employment in Africa