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Roads and Rural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

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  • Claudia N. Berg
  • Brian Blankespoor
  • Harris Selod

Abstract

This paper assesses the relationship between access to markets and land cultivation in sub-Saharan Africa. Using a geo-referenced panel over four decades (1970–2010) during which the road network was significantly improved, we find a modest impact of improved market accessibility on local cropland expansion – especially in places that are exposed to better agricultural production conditions – as well as suggestive evidence of an increase in the local intensity of cultivation. Suggestive evidence of a positive association between improved market accessibility and local GDP growth beyond the impact of cropland expansion could reflect the stimulation of non-agricultural activities.

Suggested Citation

  • Claudia N. Berg & Brian Blankespoor & Harris Selod, 2018. "Roads and Rural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(5), pages 856-874, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:54:y:2018:i:5:p:856-874
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2018.1430772
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    1. Abbasi ,Mansoureh & Lebrand,Mathilde Sylvie Maria & Mongoue,Arcady Bluette & Pongou,Roland & Zhang,Fan, 2022. "Roads, Electricity, and Jobs: Evidence of Infrastructure Complementarity in Sub-Saharan Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9976, The World Bank.
    2. Joglekar, Alison B. & Pardey, Philip G., 2016. "Proximity to African Agricultural Markets, Down to the Last Kilometer," Briefs 253951, HarvestChoice.
    3. Bosker, Maarten & Park, Jane & Roberts, Mark, 2021. "Definition matters. Metropolitan areas and agglomeration economies in a large-developing country," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    4. Sophie Bruin & Just Dengerink & Jasper Vliet, 2021. "Urbanisation as driver of food system transformation and opportunities for rural livelihoods," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(4), pages 781-798, August.
    5. Remi Jedwab & Adam Storeygard, 2019. "Economic and Political Factors in Infrastructure Investment: Evidence from Railroads and Roads in Africa 1960–2015," Economic History of Developing Regions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(2), pages 156-208, May.
    6. Asha Ally Hatibu & Essegbemon Akpo & Gerald Alex Lukurugu & Joseph Nzunda & Patrick Okori & Chris O. Ojiewo, 2022. "Upscaling Groundnut Seed Production and Delivery through Long-Term Public–Private and Development Organization Partnerships: Experiences from Tanzania," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-19, December.
    7. Vatsa, Puneet & Ma, Wanglin & Zheng, Hongyun & Li, Junpeng, 2023. "Climate-smart agricultural practices for promoting sustainable agrifood production: Yield impacts and implications for food security," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    8. Pelz, Setu & Pachauri, Shonali & Falchetta, Giacomo, 2023. "Short-run effects of grid electricity access on rural non-farm entrepreneurship and employment in Ethiopia and Nigeria," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).
    9. Rémi Jedwab & Adam Storeygard, 2022. "The Average and Heterogeneous Effects of Transportation Investments: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa 1960–2010," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 1-38.
    10. Noah Kaiser & Christina K. Barstow, 2022. "Rural Transportation Infrastructure in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review of Impacts, Implications, and Interventions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-48, February.
    11. Canning, David & Mabeu, Marie Christelle & Pongou, Roland, 2020. "Colonial origins and fertility: can the market overcome history?," MPRA Paper 112496, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Wantchekon, Leonard & Riaz, Zara, 2019. "Mobile technology and food access," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 344-356.
    13. Clemens Greiner & David Greven & Britta Klagge, 2021. "Roads to Change: Livelihoods, Land Disputes, and Anticipation of Future Developments in Rural Kenya," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 33(4), pages 1044-1068, August.
    14. Joachim Vandercasteelen & Bart Minten & Seneshaw Tamru, 2021. "Urban proximity, access to value chains, and dairy productivity in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(4), pages 665-678, July.
    15. Ma, Lin & Tang, Yang, 2024. "The distributional impacts of transportation networks in China," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    16. Kamei,Akito & Nakamura,Shohei, 2020. "Urban Agglomerations and Employment Transitions in Ethiopia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9184, The World Bank.
    17. Pierre Boulanger & Hasan Dudu & Emanuele Ferrari & Alfredo Mainar Causape & Federica Angelucci & Renata Baborska & Thibault Meilland, 2018. "Allocations budgétaires optimales et options de réformes pour le secteur agricole dans le Plan Sénégal Emergent 2019-2023," JRC Research Reports JRC113242, Joint Research Centre.
    18. Dylan Fitz & Shyam Gouri Suresh, 2021. "Poverty traps across levels of aggregation," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 16(4), pages 909-953, October.
    19. Tolcha, Tassew Dufera & Bråthen, Svein & Holmgren, Johan, 2020. "Air transport demand and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa: Direction of causality," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    20. Arora, Gaurav & Feng, Hongli & Hennessy, David A. & Loesch, Charles R. & Kvas, Susan, 2021. "The impact of production network economies on spatially-contiguous conservation– Theoretical model with evidence from the U.S. Prairie Pothole Region," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).

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