IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/jdevst/v52y2016i9p1335-1356.html

Economic Benefits of Rural Feeder Roads: Evidence from Ethiopia

Author

Listed:
  • David Stifel
  • Bart Minten
  • Bethlehem Koru

Abstract

We estimate households’ willingness-to-pay for rural feeder roads in Ethiopia. Using purposefully collected data, we compare the economic behaviour of households by remoteness to estimate the benefits of access to feeder roads. Although we cannot definitively assert a causal relationship, we cautiously estimate that gravel roads have internal rates of return of 12–35 per cent. These results suggest that rural feeder roads may have relatively high rates of return even in unfavourable settings where (a) small-scale farmers have low levels of marketed agricultural surplus, (b) non-farm earning opportunities are negligible, and (c) motorised transport services are not guaranteed.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:52:y:2016:i:9:p:1335-1356
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2016.1175555
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/00220388.2016.1175555
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00220388.2016.1175555?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yu, Bingxin & Nin-Pratt, Alejandro & Funes, José & Gemessa, Sinafikeh Asrat, 2011. "Cereal production and technology adoption in Ethiopia," IFPRI discussion papers 1131, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    2. Remi Jedwab & Alexander Moradi, 2013. "Transportation Technology and Economic Change: The Impact of Colonial Railroads on City Growth in Africa," CSAE Working Paper Series 2013-17, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    3. Zewdu, Getnet Alemu & Malek, Mehrab, 2010. "Implications of land policies for rural-urban linkages and rural transformation in Ethiopia," ESSP working papers 15, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. Schmidt, Emily & Kedir, Mekamu, 2009. "Urbanization and spatial connectivity in Ethiopia: Urban growth analysis using GIS," ESSP discussion papers 3, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. repec:fpr:esspwp:3 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. 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).
    2. Rosenthal, Stuart S. & Ross, Stephen L., 2015. "Change and Persistence in the Economic Status of Neighborhoods and Cities," 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 1047-1120, Elsevier.
    3. Chamberlin, Jordan & Schmidt, Emily, 2012. "Ethiopian Agriculture: A dynamic geographic perspective," IFPRI book chapters, in: Food and agriculture in Ethiopia: Progress and policy challenges, chapter 2, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. Stifel, David & Minten, Bart & Koru, Bethlehem, 2012. "Economic Benefits and Returns to Rural Feeder Roads: Evidence from a Quasi-Experimental Setting in Ethiopia," ESSP working papers 40, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. 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 province," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    6. Minten, Bart & Koru, Bethlehem & Stifel, David, 2013. "The last mile(s) in modern input distribution: Evidence from northwestern Ethiopia," ESSP research notes 24, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    7. Kedir Jemal, Mekamu & Schmidt, Emily & Tilahun, Helina, 2018. "Market access, teff production, and fertilizer use over time," IFPRI book chapters, in: The economics of teff: Exploring Ethiopia’s biggest cash crop, chapter 6, pages 131-148, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew & Gerber, Nicolas & Matz, Julia Anna, 2018. "Gendered Social Networks, Agricultural Innovations, and Farm Productivity in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 321-335.
    9. Neupane, Deependra & Kafle, Sagar & Karki, Kaji Ram & Kim, Dae Hyun & Pradhan, Prajal, 2022. "Solar and wind energy potential assessment at provincial level in Nepal: Geospatial and economic analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 278-291.
    10. Samuel Sebsibie & Workineh Asmare & Tessema Endalkachew, . "Agricultural Technology Adoption and Rural Poverty: a Study on Smallholders in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia," Ethiopian Journal of Economics, Ethiopian Economics Association, vol. 23(2).
    11. Stifel, David & Woldehanna, Tassew, 2014. "Utility-consistent poverty in Ethiopia, 2000-11: Welfare improvements in a changing economic landscape," WIDER Working Paper Series 125, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. Shukri Ahmed & Craig McIntosh & Alexandros Sarris, 2020. "The Impact of Commercial Rainfall Index Insurance: Experimental Evidence from Ethiopia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(4), pages 1154-1176, August.
    13. Venter, Christoffel J. & Molomo, Malesela & Mashiri, Mac, 2014. "Supply and pricing strategies of informal rural transport providers," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 239-248.
    14. Asian Development Bank Institute, 2017. "Myanmar Transport Sector Policy Note: Rural Roads and Access," Working Papers id:11782, eSocialSciences.
    15. Dorosh, Paul A. & Schmidt, Emily, 2010. "The rural-urban transformation in Ethiopia," ESSP working papers 13, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    16. Pave Sohnesen,Thomas & Ambel,Alemayehu A. & Fisker,Peter Simonsen & Andrews,Colin & Khan,Qaiser M., 2016. "Small area estimation of child malnutrition in Ethiopian woredas," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7581, The World Bank.
    17. Afeikhena Jerome, 2011. "Infrastructure, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Africa," Journal of Infrastructure Development, India Development Foundation, vol. 3(2), pages 127-151, December.
    18. Berhane, Guush & Dereje, Mekdim & Minten, Bart & Tamru, Seneshaw, 2017. "The rapid – but from a low base – uptake of agricultural mechanization in Ethiopia: Patterns, implications and challenges," ESSP working papers 105, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    19. Mellor, John W. & Dorosh, Paul A., 2010. "Agriculture and the economic transformation of Ethiopia," ESSP working papers 10, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    20. Bart Minten & David Stifel & Seneshaw Tamru, 2014. "Structural Transformation of Cereal Markets in Ethiopia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(5), pages 611-629, May.

    More about this item

    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:taf:jdevst:v:52:y:2016:i:9:p:1335-1356. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/FJDS20 .

    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.