IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/deveco/v162y2023ics0304387823000032.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rural roads, agricultural extension, and productivity

Author

Listed:
  • Gebresilasse, Mesay

Abstract

Low agricultural productivity is a persistent challenge for developing economies. Expansions of rural roads and agricultural extension, separately, have been proposed as solutions with mixed effectiveness. In this paper, I show that it is critical to consider roads and extension together due to their strong complementarities. I study the concurrent but independent expansions of rural roads and extension in Ethiopia, and find that, while ineffective in isolation, access to both a road and extension increases productivity by 6%. The key mechanisms include increased take up of advice, adoption of modern inputs, and advantageous shifts in crop choice and labor allocation.

Suggested Citation

  • Gebresilasse, Mesay, 2023. "Rural roads, agricultural extension, and productivity," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:162:y:2023:i:c:s0304387823000032
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103048
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304387823000032
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103048?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Esther Duflo & Michael Kremer & Jonathan Robinson, 2008. "How High Are Rates of Return to Fertilizer? Evidence from Field Experiments in Kenya," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 482-488, May.
    2. Stefan Dercon & Daniel O. Gilligan & John Hoddinott & Tassew Woldehanna, 2009. "The Impact of Agricultural Extension and Roads on Poverty and Consumption Growth in Fifteen Ethiopian Villages," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1007-1021.
    3. Redding, Stephen J. & Turner, Matthew A., 2015. "Transportation Costs and the Spatial Organization of Economic Activity," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1339-1398, Elsevier.
    4. Tavneet Suri, 2011. "Selection and Comparative Advantage in Technology Adoption," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 79(1), pages 159-209, January.
    5. Timothy G. Conley & Christopher R. Udry, 2010. "Learning about a New Technology: Pineapple in Ghana," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(1), pages 35-69, March.
    6. Alberto Abadie & Susan Athey & Guido W Imbens & Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2023. "When Should You Adjust Standard Errors for Clustering?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 138(1), pages 1-35.
    7. Sam Asher & Paul Novosad, 2020. "Rural Roads and Local Economic Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(3), pages 797-823, March.
    8. Evenson, Robert E., 2001. "Economic impacts of agricultural research and extension," Handbook of Agricultural Economics, in: B. L. Gardner & G. C. Rausser (ed.), Handbook of Agricultural Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 11, pages 573-628, Elsevier.
    9. Anderson, Jock R. & Feder, Gershon, 2007. "Agricultural Extension," Handbook of Agricultural Economics, in: Robert Evenson & Prabhu Pingali (ed.), Handbook of Agricultural Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 44, pages 2343-2378, Elsevier.
    10. Andrew D. Foster & Mark R. Rosenzweig, 2010. "Microeconomics of Technology Adoption," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 2(1), pages 395-424, September.
    11. Aggarwal, Shilpa, 2018. "Do rural roads create pathways out of poverty? Evidence from India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 375-395.
    12. Sebastian Sotelo, 2020. "Domestic Trade Frictions and Agriculture," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(7), pages 2690-2738.
    13. David Stifel & Bart Minten & Bethlehem Koru, 2016. "Economic Benefits of Rural Feeder Roads: Evidence from Ethiopia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(9), pages 1335-1356, September.
    14. Stefan Dercon & John Hoddinott & Tassew Woldehanna, 2012. "Growth and Chronic Poverty: Evidence from Rural Communities in Ethiopia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(2), pages 238-253, February.
    15. Porteous, Obie, 2020. "Trade and agricultural technology adoption: Evidence from Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    16. Krishnan, Pramila & Patnam, Manasa, 2013. "Neighbours and Extension Agents in Ethiopia: Who matters more for technology diffusion?," CEPR Discussion Papers 9539, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Shamdasani, Yogita, 2021. "Rural road infrastructure & agricultural production: Evidence from India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    18. Laurent Bergé, 2018. "Efficient estimation of maximum likelihood models with multiple fixed-effects: the R package FENmlm," DEM Discussion Paper Series 18-13, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    19. Sun, Liyang & Abraham, Sarah, 2021. "Estimating dynamic treatment effects in event studies with heterogeneous treatment effects," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 175-199.
    20. Owens, Trudy & Hoddinott, John & Kinsey, Bill, 2003. "The Impact of Agricultural Extension on Farm Production in Resettlement Areas of Zimbabwe," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(2), pages 337-357, January.
    21. Bachewe, Fantu N. & Berhane, Guush & Minten, Bart & Taffesse, Alemayehu S., 2018. "Agricultural Transformation in Africa? Assessing the Evidence in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 286-298.
    22. Douglas Gollin & David Lagakos & Michael E. Waugh, 2014. "The Agricultural Productivity Gap," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(2), pages 939-993.
    23. Buehren,Niklas & Goldstein,Markus P. & Molina,Ezequiel & Vaillant,Julia, 2017. "The impact of strengthening agricultural extension services : evidence from Ethiopia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8169, The World Bank.
    24. Ariel BenYishay & A Mushfiq Mobarak, 2019. "Social Learning and Incentives for Experimentation and Communication," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(3), pages 976-1009.
    25. Jacoby, Hanan C, 2000. "Access to Markets and the Benefits of Rural Roads," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(465), pages 713-737, July.
    26. Gollin, Douglas & Rogerson, Richard, 2014. "Productivity, transport costs and subsistence agriculture," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 38-48.
    27. Berhane, Guush & Ragasa, Catherine & Abate, Gashaw T. & Assefa, Thomas Woldu, 2018. "The state of agricultural extension services in Ethiopia and their contribution to agricultural productivity," ESSP working papers 118, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    28. James Levinsohn & Amil Petrin, 2003. "Estimating Production Functions Using Inputs to Control for Unobservables," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(2), pages 317-341.
    29. Udry, Christopher, 2010. "The economics of agriculture in Africa: Notes toward a research program," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 5(1), pages 1-16, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Arguello, R & Garcia-Suaza, A. F. & Bolivar, M. F. & Alzate, M., 2023. "Market access and agricultural land use: Does distance matter? Insights from Colombia," Documentos de Trabajo 20748, Universidad del Rosario.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shamdasani, Yogita, 2021. "Rural road infrastructure & agricultural production: Evidence from India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    2. Ram Fishman & Stephen C. Smith & Vida Bobic & Munshi Sulaiman, 2022. "Can Agricultural Extension and Input Support Be Discontinued? Evidence from a Randomized Phaseout in Uganda," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 104(6), pages 1273-1288, November.
    3. Stephen C. Smith & Ram Fishman & Vida BobicÌ & Munshi Sulaiman, 2017. "How Sustainable Are Benefits from Extension for Smallholder Farmers? Evidence from a Randomised Phase-Out of the BRAC Program in Uganda," Working Papers 2017-1, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    4. ELOUHICHI Kamel & TEMURSHOEV Umed & COLEN Liesbeth & GOMEZ Y PALOMA Sergio, 2019. "Upscaling the productivity performance of the Agricultural Commercialization Cluster Initiative in Ethiopia," JRC Research Reports JRC117562, Joint Research Centre.
    5. Leuveld, Koen & Nillesen, Eleonora & Pieters, Janneke & Ross, Martha & Voors, Maarten & Wang Sonne, Elise, 2018. "Agricultural extension and input subsidies to reduce food insecurity. Evidence from a field experiment in the Congo," MERIT Working Papers 2018-009, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    6. 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.
    7. de Janvry, Alain & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 2020. "Using agriculture for development: Supply- and demand-side approaches," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    8. Abate, Gashaw T. & Dereje, Mekdim & Hirvonen, Kalle & Minten, Bart, 2020. "Geography of public service delivery in rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    9. Teno, Gabriel & Lehrer, Kim & Kone, Abdoulaye, 2018. "Les facteurs de l’adoption des nouvelles technologies en agriculture en Afrique Subsaharienne: une revue de la littérature," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 13(2), June.
    10. Niu, Chiyu & Ragasa, Catherine, 2018. "Selective attention and information loss in the lab-to-farm knowledge chain: The case of Malawian agricultural extension programs," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 147-163.
    11. Annemie Maertens & Hope Michelson & Vesall Nourani, 2021. "How Do Farmers Learn from Extension Services? Evidence from Malawi," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(2), pages 569-595, March.
    12. María Adelaida Ortega, 2018. "Conectando mercados: vías rurales y producción agrícola en el contexto de una economía dual," Documentos CEDE 16818, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    13. Christian Darko & Giovanni Occhiali & Enrico Vanino, 2021. "The Chinese are Here: Import Penetration and Firm Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(12), pages 2112-2135, December.
    14. Verkaart, Simone & Munyua, Bernard G. & Mausch, Kai & Michler, Jeffrey D., 2017. "Welfare impacts of improved chickpea adoption: A pathway for rural development in Ethiopia?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 50-61.
    15. Kebede, Hundanol A., 2022. "Market integration and separability of production and consumption decisions in farm households," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    16. B Kelsey Jack, "undated". "Market Inefficiencies and the Adoption of Agricultural Technologies in Developing Countries," CID Working Papers 50, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    17. Terrance Hurley & Jawoo Koo & Kindie Tesfaye, 2018. "Weather risk: how does it change the yield benefits of nitrogen fertilizer and improved maize varieties in sub‐Saharan Africa?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(6), pages 711-723, November.
    18. Paul Gertler & Marco Gonzalez-Navarro & Tadeja Gracner & Alexander D. Rothenberg, 2022. "Road Maintenance and Local Economic Development: Evidence from Indonesia’s Highways," NBER Working Papers 30454, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Clive Bell, 2022. "The social profitability of rural roads in a small open economy: Do urban agglomeration economies matter?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 101(2), pages 373-397, April.
    20. Berhane, Guush & Abate, Gashaw T. & Wolle, Abdulazize, 2021. "Agricultural Intensification in Ethiopia: Trends and Welfare Impacts," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315313, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Rural roads; Extension; Productivity; Ethiopia; Market access; Agricultural management;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q16 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • R42 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government and Private Investment Analysis; Road Maintenance; Transportation Planning

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:162:y:2023:i:c:s0304387823000032. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/devec .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.