Institutional Quality as a Prerequisite for Clean Energy's Social Returns: Panel Evidence on Inequality, Health, and Gender

Institutional Quality as a Prerequisite for Clean Energy's Social Returns: Panel Evidence on Inequality, Health, and Gender | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Institutional Quality as a Prerequisite for Clean Energy's Social Returns: Panel Evidence on Inequality, Health, and Gender Quoc Lap Nguyen This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9444438/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Global clean energy access has expanded rapidly, yet its socio-economic benefits remain concentrated in nations with strong institutions. This disparity leaves many developing countries unable to convert energy investments into durable welfare gains. This study investigates whether institutional quality—measured by the Rule of Law Index—acts as a fundamental governance threshold that must be crossed before clean energy translates into reduced income inequality and improved population health. Utilizing a comprehensive panel of 208 countries, the analysis employs dynamic panel estimations, threshold regressions, and mediation frameworks. Three principal findings emerge. First, governance thresholds are highly decisive: the developmental benefits of clean energy on equality and life expectancy amplify significantly only when a nation's rule of law reaches the upper tier of the global distribution. Second, electricity access strongly mediates health improvements, highlighting the electrification of healthcare infrastructure as a dominant causal channel over clean cooking alone. Third, the relationship between clean energy and female labor force participation is U-shaped. Because most developing nations have not yet reached the turning point, this trend reflects a structural labor-market transition rather than a straightforward empowerment narrative. Ultimately, these findings indicate that governance reform is a prerequisite, not merely a complement, for unlocking the social returns of clean energy investments. Clean energy access Institutional quality Rule of law Income inequality Life expectancy Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 23 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 20 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 17 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9444438","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":628675351,"identity":"a7377b54-6e04-4ae0-a955-e0c912c0eab1","order_by":0,"name":"Quoc Lap Nguyen","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA1UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACPjD5g42ZH0QnFBChhQ1EMPbwsUs2gLQYEKuFgU2O3+AAiEGUFvazxx684TGTNj6/OvHDAwMGeX6xAwS08OSlG86xSDM2u/F2swTQYYYzZycQcliOmTQPz7FksxtnN4C0JBjcJqSF/w1QC9v/+s0zzm7+QZwWCZAtbGzMBvy924i0ReJdmuTcHjZmiRu82ywSDCQI+4WfP/eYxBtQVPaf3XzzR4WNPL80AS0MDDxgxMAgAVYpQUg5shb+A8SoHgWjYBSMgpEIAN3MO8dCfoJKAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Quoc","middleName":"Lap","lastName":"Nguyen","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-17 05:39:31","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9444438/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9444438/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":109296574,"identity":"f2d42776-8a1d-4874-8a6e-7ded0a6cd124","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-15 08:48:16","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1384133,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"InstitutionalQualityasaPrerequisite.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9444438/v1_covered_481621f4-748e-461a-913d-52190cf7dbda.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\n Institutional Quality as a Prerequisite for Clean Energy's Social Returns:\n Panel Evidence on Inequality, Health, and Gender","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"environment-systems-and-decisions","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"envr","sideBox":"Learn more about [Environment Systems and Decisions](http://link.springer.com/journal/10669)","snPcode":"10669","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10669/3","title":"Environment Systems and Decisions","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Clean energy access, Institutional quality, Rule of law, Income inequality, Life expectancy","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9444438/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9444438/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Global clean energy access has expanded rapidly, yet its socio-economic benefits remain concentrated in nations with strong institutions. 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