The Poverty Impact of Rural Roads: Evidence from Bangladesh

The rationale for public investment in rural roads is that households can better exploit agricultural and non-agricultural opportunities to employ labor and capital more efficiently. But significant knowledge gaps remain as to how opportunities provided by roads actually filter back into household outcomes and their distributional consequences. This paper examines the impacts of rural road projects using household-level panel data from Bangladesh. Rural road investments are found to reduce poverty significantly through higher agricultural production, higher wages, lower input and transportation costs, and higher output prices. Rural roads also lead to higher girls’ and boys’ schooling. Road investments are pro-poor, meaning the gains are proportionately higher for the poor than for the non-poor.

• Record URL:
  • http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/IW3P/IB/2006/03/29/000012009_20060329093100/Rendered/PDF/wps38750rev0pdf.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  World Bank

  1818 H Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20433
• Authors:
  • Khandker, Shahidur R
  • Bakht, Zaid
  • Koolwal, Gayatri B
• Publication Date: 2006-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Edition: World Bank Policy Research Working Paper
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 34p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Agricultural products; Economic impacts; Investments; Low income groups; Output; Prices; Rural highways; Schools; Travel costs; Wages
• Uncontrolled Terms: Capital input
• Geographic Terms: Bangladesh
• Subject Areas: Economics; Education and Training; Highways; Society; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01076981
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: WPS 3875
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 28 2007 8:01AM