Rural road infrastructure & agricultural production: Evidence from India

Yogita Shamdasani

Journal of Development Economics, 2021, vol. 152, issue C

Abstract: A large share of the world’s poor live in remote regions, where high costs associated with limited connectivity constrain economic activity. This paper estimates the effects of improvements in infrastructure under a large rural road-building program on production decisions in agriculture. Remote households that gain access to program roads diversify their crop portfolio, adopt modern agricultural technologies and increase hired-labor use. Supporting evidence suggests that program roads increase the mobility of agricultural workers by integrating village labor markets across space, in turn enabling the adoption of labor-intensive production practices. These findings highlight the importance of last-mile connectivity in remote areas across the developing world.

Keywords: Infrastructure; Agricultural productivity; Technology adoption; Labor markets (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J43 O13 O18 Q12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (46)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:152:y:2021:i:c:s0304387821000638

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102686

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