IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v93y2021ics0966692321001101.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Evaluation of rural roads construction alternatives according to seasonal service accessibility improvement using a novel multi-modal cost-time model: A study in Nepal's remote and mountainous Karnali province

Author

Listed:
  • Banick, Robert
  • Heyns, Andries M.
  • Regmi, Suraj

Abstract

Transport and economic geographers' accessibility models provide nuanced descriptions of accessibility gains to investments in structured environments but struggle to accurately reflect the complex mobility constraints in rural, mountainous areas of the developing world. This forces planners in such contexts to employ cruder measures of accessibility gains to each road, particularly where large collections of feeder roads inflate data collection expenses. To address this disconnect we develop a scalable method for evaluating the cost-efficiency of rural roads investments based on seasonal accessibility improvements to specified services. Accessibility improvements are measured using road-specific multi-modal cost-distance models, incorporating terrain, seasonal effects, and extensive off-network walking travel. Using our models, we estimate and compare accessibility improvements for a large collection of proposed rural feeder roads in a case study of Nepal's remote, mountainous Karnali province. The developed model and workflow can be adapted to compare accessibility gains from roads or other investments in equivalently rugged, remote, and data-poor environments, opening the door to more rigorous accounting of accessibility in a traditionally neglected context.

Suggested Citation

  • Banick, Robert & Heyns, Andries M. & Regmi, Suraj, 2021. "Evaluation of rural roads construction alternatives according to seasonal service accessibility improvement using a novel multi-modal cost-time model: A study in Nepal's remote and mountainous Karnali," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:93:y:2021:i:c:s0966692321001101
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.103057
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692321001101
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.103057?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John Gibson & David McKenzie, 2007. "Using Global Positioning Systems in Household Surveys for Better Economics and Better Policy," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 22(2), pages 217-241, September.
    2. Cheng, Jianquan & Bertolini, Luca, 2013. "Measuring urban job accessibility with distance decay, competition and diversity," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 100-109.
    3. Tanser, Frank & Gijsbertsen, Brice & Herbst, Kobus, 2006. "Modelling and understanding primary health care accessibility and utilization in rural South Africa: An exploration using a geographical information system," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 691-705, August.
    4. 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.
    5. Munoz-Raskin, Ramon, 2010. "Walking accessibility to bus rapid transit: Does it affect property values? The case of Bogotá, Colombia," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 72-84, March.
    6. Javier Escobal & Sonia Laszlo, 2008. "Measurement Error in Access to Markets," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 70(2), pages 209-243, April.
    7. Blankespoor,Brian & Bougna Lonla,Theophile & Garduno Rivera,Rafael & Selod,Harris, 2017. "Roads and the geography of economic activities in Mexico," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8226, The World Bank.
    8. Mikou,Mehdi & Rozenberg,Julie & Koks,Elco Eduard & Fox,Charles James Edward & Peralta Quiros,Tatiana, 2019. "Assessing Rural Accessibility and Rural Roads Investment Needs Using Open Source Data," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8746, The World Bank.
    9. Mavoa, Suzanne & Witten, Karen & McCreanor, Tim & O’Sullivan, David, 2012. "GIS based destination accessibility via public transit and walking in Auckland, New Zealand," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 15-22.
    10. Currie, Graham, 2010. "Quantifying spatial gaps in public transport supply based on social needs," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 31-41.
    11. Banerjee, Abhijit & Duflo, Esther & Qian, Nancy, 2020. "On the road: Access to transportation infrastructure and economic growth in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    12. Marcel Fafchamps & Forhad Shilpi, 2003. "The spatial division of labour in Nepal," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(6), pages 23-66.
    13. Jacoby, Hanan G. & Minten, Bart, 2009. "On measuring the benefits of lower transport costs," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 28-38, May.
    14. Thomas Walker & Yasuhiro Kawasoe & Jui Shrestha, 2019. "Risk and Vulnerability in Nepal," World Bank Publications - Reports 33365, The World Bank Group.
    15. D. J. Weiss & A. Nelson & H. S. Gibson & W. Temperley & S. Peedell & A. Lieber & M. Hancher & E. Poyart & S. Belchior & N. Fullman & B. Mappin & U. Dalrymple & J. Rozier & T. C. D. Lucas & R. E. Howes, 2018. "A global map of travel time to cities to assess inequalities in accessibility in 2015," Nature, Nature, vol. 553(7688), pages 333-336, January.
    16. John Gibson & David McKenzie, 2007. "Using Global Positioning Systems in Household Surveys for Better Economics and Better Policy," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank Group, vol. 22(2), pages 217-241, September.
    17. Perry, Baker & Gesler, Wil, 2000. "Physical access to primary health care in Andean Bolivia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 50(9), pages 1177-1188, May.
    18. Blankespoor, Brian & Emran, M. Shahe & Shilpi, Forhad & Xu, Lu, 2018. "Transport Costs, Comparative Advantage, and Agricultural Development: Evidence from Jamuna Bridge in Bangladesh," MPRA Paper 86630, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Banick,Robert Steven & Kawasoe,Yasuhiro, 2019. "Measuring Inequality of Access : Modeling Physical Remoteness in Nepal," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8966, The World Bank.
    20. Guzman, Luis A. & Oviedo, Daniel & Rivera, Carlos, 2017. "Assessing equity in transport accessibility to work and study: The Bogotá region," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 236-246.
    21. Delmelle, Elizabeth Cahill & Casas, Irene, 2012. "Evaluating the spatial equity of bus rapid transit-based accessibility patterns in a developing country: The case of Cali, Colombia," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 36-46.
    22. Heyns,Andries Michiel & Banick,Robert Steven & Regmi,Suraj, 2021. "Roads Development Optimization for All-Season Service Accessibility Improvement in Rural Nepal Using a Novel Cost-Time Model and Evolutionary Algorithm," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9526, The World Bank.
    23. Devkota, Bhuwan & Dudycha, Douglas & Andrey, Jean, 2012. "Planning for non-motorized travel in rural Nepal: a role for geographic information systems," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 282-291.
    24. Carlos Carrion & David Levinson, 2019. "Overestimation and underestimation of travel time on commute trips: GPS vs. self- reporting," Working Papers 2019-05, University of Minnesota: Nexus Research Group.
    25. Andrew Smith & Paul D. Bates & Oliver Wing & Christopher Sampson & Niall Quinn & Jeff Neal, 2019. "New estimates of flood exposure in developing countries using high-resolution population data," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-7, December.
    26. Nobuo Yoshida & Uwe Deichmann, 2009. "Measurement of Accessibility and Its Applications," Journal of Infrastructure Development, India Development Foundation, vol. 1(1), pages 1-16, June.
    27. Raballand, Gael & Thornton, Rebecca & Yang, Dean & Goldberg, Jessica & Keleher, Niall & Muller, Annika, 2011. "Are rural road investments alone sufficient to generate transport flows ? lessons from a randomized experiment in rural Malawi and policy implications," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5535, The World Bank.
    28. Jerry Lebo & Dieter Schelling, 2001. "Design and Appraisal of Rural Transport Infrastructure : Ensuring Basic Access for Rural Communities," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 13911, December.
    29. Chamberlin, Jordan & Jayne, T.S., 2013. "Unpacking the Meaning of ‘Market Access’: Evidence from Rural Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 245-264.
    30. 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.
    31. Páez, Antonio & Scott, Darren M. & Morency, Catherine, 2012. "Measuring accessibility: positive and normative implementations of various accessibility indicators," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 141-153.
    32. Gachassin, Marie & Najman, Boris & Raballand, Gael, 2010. "The impact of roads on poverty reduction : a case study of Cameroon," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5209, The World Bank.
    33. Deborah Fahy Bryceson & Annabel Bradbury & Trevor Bradbury, 2008. "Roads to Poverty Reduction? Exploring Rural Roads' Impact on Mobility in Africa and Asia," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 26(4), pages 459-482, July.
    34. Dominique van de Walle, 2009. "Impact evaluation of rural road projects," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 15-36.
    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. Ruishi Si & Yumeng Yao & Xueqian Zhang & Qian Lu & Noshaba Aziz, 2022. "Exploring the Role of Contiguous Farmland Cultivation and Adoption of No-Tillage Technology in Improving Transferees’ Income Structure: Evidence from China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-25, April.

    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. Stifel, David & Minten, Bart, 2017. "Market Access, Well-being, and Nutrition: Evidence from Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 229-241.
    2. Mengying Cui & David Levinson, 2020. "Primal and Dual Access," Working Papers 2022-01, University of Minnesota: Nexus Research Group.
    3. Vandercasteelen, Joachim & Beyene, Seneshaw Tamru & Minten, Bart & Swinnen, Johan, 2018. "Cities and agricultural transformation in Africa: Evidence from Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 383-399.
    4. Krishnan, Pramila & Zhang, Peng, 2020. "Restricting trade and reducing variety: Evidence from Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    5. Shin Takada & So Morikawa & Rika Idei & Hironori Kato, 2021. "Impacts of improvements in rural roads on household income through the enhancement of market accessibility in rural areas of Cambodia," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(5), pages 2857-2881, October.
    6. Claudia N. Berg & Uwe Deichmann & Yishen Liu & Harris Selod, 2017. "Transport Policies and Development," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(4), pages 465-480, April.
    7. Stifel, David & Minten, Bart, 2015. "Market Access, Welfare, and Nutrition: Evidence from Ethiopia:," ESSP working papers 77, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. John Gibson & Xiangzheng Deng & Geua Boe-Gibson & Scott Rozelle & Jikun Huang, 2008. "Which Households Are Most Distant from Health Centers in Rural China? Evidence from a GIS Network Analysis," Working Papers in Economics 08/19, University of Waikato.
    9. Suchi Kapoor Malhotra & Howard White & Nina Ashley O. Dela Cruz & Ashrita Saran & John Eyers & Denny John & Ella Beveridge & Nina Blöndal, 2021. "Studies of the effectiveness of transport sector interventions in low‐ and middle‐income countries: An evidence and gap map," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(4), December.
    10. Saghapour, Tayebeh & Moridpour, Sara & Thompson, Russell G., 2016. "Public transport accessibility in metropolitan areas: A new approach incorporating population density," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 273-285.
    11. DJEMAI, Elodie, 2018. "Roads and the spread of HIV in Africa," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 118-141.
    12. Fransen, Koos & Neutens, Tijs & Farber, Steven & De Maeyer, Philippe & Deruyter, Greet & Witlox, Frank, 2015. "Identifying public transport gaps using time-dependent accessibility levels," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 176-187.
    13. Elodie Djemai, 2017. "Roads and the Spread of AIDS in Africa," Working Papers DT/2017/16, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    14. Oviedo, Daniel & Cavoli, Clemence & Levy, Caren & Koroma, Braima & Macarthy, Joseph & Sabogal, Orlando & Arroyo, Fatima & Jones, Peter, 2022. "Accessibility and sustainable mobility transitions in Africa: Insights from Freetown," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    15. Derek Headey & David Stifel & Liangzhi You & Zhe Guo, 2018. "Remoteness, urbanization, and child nutrition in sub‐Saharan Africa," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(6), pages 765-775, November.
    16. Daniel Oviedo & Lynn Scholl & Marco Innao & Lauramaria Pedraza, 2019. "Do Bus Rapid Transit Systems Improve Accessibility to Job Opportunities for the Poor? The Case of Lima, Peru," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-24, May.
    17. Sawada Yasuyuki & Sugawara Shinya & Shoji Masahiro & Shinkai Naoko, 2014. "The Role of Infrastructure in Mitigating Poverty Dynamics: The Case of an Irrigation Project in Sri Lanka," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 14(3), pages 1-28, July.
    18. Akpan, Uduak & Morimoto, Risako, 2022. "An application of Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) to the prioritization of rural roads to improve rural accessibility in Nigeria," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PB).
    19. Monica Beuran & Marie Gachassin & Gaël Raballand, 2015. "Are There Myths on Road Impact and Transport in Sub-Saharan Africa?," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 33(5), pages 673-700, September.
    20. 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.

    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:jotrge:v:93:y:2021:i:c:s0966692321001101. 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: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    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.