Financing road projects and its impact on off-farm work in rural China

Ligao Bao, Motoi Kusadokoro and Atsushi Chitose

Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 2025, vol. 99, issue C

Abstract: Effective public sector decision-making in infrastructure financing is crucial for socio-economic development, especially in emerging economies. Since 2003, China has revamped its rural road construction policy, transitioning from “workers self-organised construction (Min Gong Jian Qin)" to a “one project, one discussion (Yi Shi Yi Yi)" approach and significantly increasing government investment. This study evaluates the impact of various financing sources—externally funded, self-financed, and mix financed—on rural off-farm income and migration intentions using the Chinese Household Income Project survey data, employing difference-in-differences and propensity score matching methodologies to analyze the socio-economic impacts of rural road projects financed through different sources on off-farm work income and migration intentions of the rural Chinese population. Findings reveal that externally funded road projects significantly enhance off-farm income and encourage migration intentions for work. Conversely, self-financed projects that rely on local villagers' contributions and voluntary labor, show no positive impact on off-farm income and unexpectedly reduce migration intentions. Importantly, projects with mixed financing models were found to have no significant impact on either off-farm income or migration patterns, highlighting challenges in the coordination and efficacy of these hybrid financing strategies. These results contribute to the discourse on public sector decision-making by demonstrating the critical role of government-funded infrastructure in facilitating socio-economic development in rural areas. The study underscores the importance of strategic resource allocation and effective financing models in enhancing rural infrastructure, increasing income, and enabling rural out-migration for improved livelihoods.

Keywords: Rural road; Financing sources; Socio-economic impacts; Off-farm income; Migration intentions; Chinese household income project; PSM-DID (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:soceps:v:99:y:2025:i:c:s0038012125000588

DOI: 10.1016/j.seps.2025.102209

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