A review of the energy-employment nexus in Bangladesh : Rural-urban electrification and sectoral occupation patterns

Energy access, more specifically electricity access, is one of the prerequisites to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Around one-tenth of the global population remained without access to electricity in 2019. Bangladesh has shown substantial progress in electricity access. This paper aims at reviewing the association between electricity access and employment in the core three sectors: agriculture, industry, and service. The study finds that rural access to electricity is steeper in progress than that of urban areas; and overall access to electricity is increasing, while the urban-rural disparity in energy access is decreasing over time. The proportion of female employment in agriculture has reduced by one third during 1991-2018. Agricultural employment, in general, decreases with an increase in electricity access, which is counterintuitive. The government should consider the issue to keep the agricultural employment stable to ensure food security and the sector’s contribution to gross domestic product.