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Roads and Rural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: This paper assesses the relationship between access to markets and land cultivation in sub-Saharan Africa. Using a geo-referenced panel over four decades (1970–2010) during which the road network was significantly improved, we find a modest impact of improved market accessibility on local cropland expansion – especially in places that are exposed to better agricultural production conditions – as well as suggestive evidence of an increase in the local intensity of cultivation. Suggestive evidence of a positive association between improved market accessibility and local GDP growth beyond the impact of cropland expansion could reflect the stimulation of non-agricultural activities.

Source: The Journal of Development Studies

DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2018.1430772

Authors: Claudia N. Berg, Brian Blankespoor, Harris Selod

Institutions: International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Bank Group

Language: English

Topic: Agricultural Innovations and Practices

Subfield: General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDGs: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Zero hunger, Decent work and economic growth, No poverty

Open Access status: green

Funders: World Bank Group, Department for International Development