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Complementarities in Infrastructure: Evidence from Rural India

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  • Vanden Eynde, Oliver
  • Wren-Lewis, Liam

Abstract

Complementarities between infrastructure projects have been understudied. Our paper examines interactions in the impacts of large-scale road construction, electrification, and mobile phone coverage programs in rural India. We find strong evidence of complementary impacts between roads and electricity on agricultural production: dry season cropping increases significantly when villages receive both, but not when they receive one without the other. These complementarities are associated with a shift of cropping patterns towards market crops and with improved economic conditions. In contrast, we find no consistent evidence of complementarities for the mobile coverage program.

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  • Vanden Eynde, Oliver & Wren-Lewis, Liam, 2021. "Complementarities in Infrastructure: Evidence from Rural India," CEPR Discussion Papers 16139, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:16139
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Infrastructure; Complementarities; agriculture;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment

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