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Revolutionising transport: modern infrastructure, agriculture and development in Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Alexander Moradi

    (University of Sussex)

  • Remi Jedwab

    (Paris School of Economics)

Abstract

"We study the impact of colonial investments in modern transportation in- frastructure on agriculture and development in Ghana. Two railway lines were built between 1901 and 1923 to connect the coast to mining areas and the large hinterland city of Kumasi. This unintendedly opened vast expanses of tropical forest to cocoa cultivation, allowing Ghana to become the world’s largest producer. Using data at a very fine spatial level, we find a strong effect of railroad connectivity on cocoa production in 1927, generating rents in the order of 4.5% of GDP. We show that the economic boom in cocoa-producing areas was associated with demographic growth and urbanization. We find no effect for lines that were not built yet, and lines that were planned but never built. Lastly, railway construction had a persistent impact: railway districts are more developed today despite a complete displacement of rail by other means of transport."

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander Moradi & Remi Jedwab, 2012. "Revolutionising transport: modern infrastructure, agriculture and development in Ghana," Working Papers 12010, Economic History Society.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehs:wpaper:12010
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Isaías N. Chaves & Stanley L. Engerman & James A. Robinson, 2013. "Reinventing the Wheel: The Economic Benefits of Wheeled Transportation in Early British Colonial West Africa," NBER Working Papers 19673, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Grover, Arti & Lall, Somik & Timmis, Jonathan, 2023. "Agglomeration economies in developing countries: A meta-analysis," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    3. 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.
    4. Eric Strobl & Marie-Anne Valfort, 2015. "The Effect of Weather-Induced Internal Migration on Local Labor Markets. Evidence from Uganda," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 29(2), pages 385-412.
    5. Adam, Christopher & Bevan, David & Gollin, Douglas, 2018. "Rural–Urban Linkages, Public Investment and Transport Costs: The Case of Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 497-510.
    6. Gareth Austin, 2014. "Vent for surplus or productivity breakthrough? The Ghanaian cocoa take-off, c. 1890–1936," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 67(4), pages 1035-1064, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Transportation Infrastructure; Trade Costs; Agriculture; Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • R4 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics
    • F1 - International Economics - - Trade
    • N17 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Africa; Oceania

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