Carolina Pacheco-Balcazar is a Fall 2024 recipient of the Srinivasan Family Awards for Projects in Emerging Markets, run by the Center for Emerging Markets at Northeastern University.
As the sun sets in a remote mountainous region of Oaxaca, Mexico, lights begin to turn on in homes across the countryside as families using solar-powered lighting systems end their day. Until recently, this scene would have been impossible—these households, like thousands in the region, existed far from the electrical grid in an area where 89% live in poverty, half remain disconnected from energy infrastructure, and two-thirds cannot meet basic energy requirements.
Carolina Pacheco-Balcazar, a fourth-year Economics and Political Science major from Puebla, Mexico, is investigating how solar energy can alleviate poverty in these communities. With support from the Center for Emerging Markets' Srinivasan Family Awards program, Carolina has spent the past several months investigating how solar energy can alleviate poverty through a partnership with IluMexico, a social enterprise providing solar-powered home systems to rural communities.
Carolina's interest in development economics originated in her first Northeastern class, Comparative Politics, where she was inspired by economists Amartya Sen and Esther Duflo's work on poverty alleviation. Studying the poorest regions of the world—those paradoxically receiving the most foreign aid—she questioned why economic growth remained stagnant despite substantial support.
This curiosity prompted Carolina to participate in a Dialogue of Civilizations at the United Nations and secure a Climate Change Investment Research Co-op at Wellington Management. There, she explored sustainable development financing in Latin America and evaluated companies' climate adaptation strategies, respectively. Recognizing the water scarcity and extreme heat threats in her native Mexico, Carolina identified solar energy's significant potential to address both climate and poverty challenges simultaneously.
Carolina believes that effective global solutions require understanding people's needs firsthand and including them in policy decisions. This philosophy led her to research social enterprises working with solar energy to reduce energy poverty in Mexico, connecting her with Manuel Wiechers, IluMexico's founder. To date, IluMexico has displaced 45,000 tons of CO2 across nine Mexican states, benefiting 28,000 households—approximately 150,000 people.
In March 2025, Carolina traveled to Oaxaca to study solar energy's effects on poverty directly. Her research examines 174 households selected in 2019 for an eight-year subsidy program with Iberdrola, a sustainable energy company. This program helps cover installation costs and provides a 200 peso monthly discount on energy fees.
Through field surveys, Carolina analyzed household demographics, energy usage patterns, and affordability among subsidized communities. She sought to determine how Iberdrola's subsidy affects long-term adoption and whether such programs effectively promote economic development. Now she's preparing a comprehensive analysis to inform IluMexico's future strategies as they expand to meet Mexico's growing energy demands.
By comparing solar-subsidized households to those without access, Carolina has gained valuable insight into both the socioeconomic benefits of sustainable energy solutions and the obstacles preventing wider adoption. This project has strengthened her commitment to development economics and community-centered research. As she approaches graduation next month and concludes her project, Carolina plans to continue exploring market-based solutions to energy poverty and climate resilience in developing regions throughout her academic and professional career.
