The Political Economy of Road Management Reform: Papua New Guinea's National Road Fund

Matthew Dornan

Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies from Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University

Abstract: Papua New Guinea's (PNG's) road system is in a parlous state after decades of neglect. More than half of the roads in the country require urgent rehabilitation. The PNG Government sought from 2003 to address the problem through the establishment of a Road Fund designed to earmark revenue for road management. Development partners supported these efforts, which were similar to reforms implemented in other parts of the world. This article examines the establishment of an independent road fund and road management agency in PNG. It finds that these reforms have not markedly improved road conditions, and that they have been undermined by a lack of support from political leaders and parts of the civil service. The article's conclusion, that the establishment of a road fund is no panacea against political obstacles to road maintenance funding, is relevant to a broader literature concerning the establishment of independent institutions to address governance challenges.

Keywords: political economy; economic reform; road management; road fund; Papua New Guinea (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 15 pages
Date: 2016-10-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-tre
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Published in Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies, September 2016, pages 443-457

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