Infrastructure

Isolation and Economic Specialization and Well-being
This research project analyzes how access to markets and urban centers influences location of economic activities over geographical space, and well-being of people at different locations. Analyses based on household data from Nepal reveal existence of strong specialization pattern and agglomeration effects with respect to market size and access to markets. The second phase of the research, based on data from population census and household surveys from Nepal will examine how infrastructure and amenities available at different locations affect internal migration pattern. This research is expected to contribute to designing suitable placement strategies for infrastructure as well as urban and rural development projects.

Rural Energy
Until recently, the potential for utilizing renewable energy in rural areas and the adverse health effects of indoor air pollution (IAP) on women and children have not received sufficient attention. Research on the structure and efficiency of rural energy markets has also been minor.

Against this backdrop, a major study has been undertaken to assist the government of Bangladesh in formulating a rural energy strategy to increase the access of the rural population to affordable modern energy. The study compiled rural energy use data to get benchmark information, conducted two surveys - one at household level and the other at rural micro-enterprise level, and assessed rural energy delivery mechanisms, demand for energy and benefits. Investigating the energy use patterns at domestic, farming and enterprise levels, the study finds that making modern energy services available in rural areas can promote decentralized development and growth and help rural residents become more productive, thereby mitigating urban-rural disparities and reducing rural-to-urban migration. As this study shows, electrification translates into substantial gains in household welfare and a higher quality of life. This study recommends effective institutional coordination, combined with market development, appropriate subsidy and pricing policies, and government and donor support, as the basis for sound rural energy policies.

Another study examines how improved access to energy helps reduce poverty through higher income and consumption. Based on cross-sectional data from a 2004 survey of some 2,300 households in rural Bangladesh, the study estimates the welfare impacts of household energy use, including the use of modern energy, and then calculates households' minimum energy requirements that could be used as a basis for an energy poverty line. The study finds that although the use of both traditional (biomass) and modern (electricity) sources improves households' consumption and income, return on modern sources is 20 to 25 times higher than that on traditional sources. In addition, a comparison of alternate measures of energy poverty line suggests that more than 50 percent of the rural households in Bangladesh are energy poor.

Rural Roads
Better rural roads enable households to exploit agricultural and non-agricultural opportunities more efficiently, justifying investment in road construction and improvements. But significant knowledge gaps remain as to how roads actually affect household outcomes. A study on the socioeconomic impacts of the investment in roads in Bangladesh uses household level data from two panel surveys conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) - the first panel survey collected data in 1995 and 2002 and the second in 1997 and 2001. The surveys provided data on two major infrastructure development projects namely, Rural Roads and Markets Improvement and Maintenance Project - I (RRMIMP-I) and Rural Roads and Markets Improvement and Maintenance Project - II (RRMIMP-II), both being components of a major rual development effort financed by the World Bank. These projects entailed improvements of roads, culverts, bridges, markets and growth centers in rural Bangladesh. The study examined the impacts of these infrastructure investments on household welfare indicators (e.g. per capita consumption, assets, labor participation, schooling, etc.). The study demonstrated that rural road investments reduce poverty significantly. The relevant linkages include higher agricultural production, higher wages, lower input and transportation costs, and higher output prices. Rural roads also lead to higher schooling achievements for both girls and boys. Finally, road investmemts are pro-poor, meaning the gains from rural road projects are proportionately higher for households from low income quintiles.

The Information Communication Technology and Development
Rapid growth of Internet use in high-income economies has raised the specter of a "digital divide" that will marginalize developing countries. Using new cross-country data sets, this research investigates two proximate determinants of the digital divide: internet intensity (internet subscriptions per telephone mainline) and access to telecom services. In Bangladesh, surveys are ongoing to analyze the importance of information as a determinant of rural development.

Interregional Transport
The lack of regional integration in Africa is seen as a major barrier to the emergence of regional production networks that could generate the scale economies to support export oriented growth strategies. The poor quality of infrastructure contributes to the low level of intra-African trade in primary products, intermediates and final goods. This analysis suggests that continental network upgrading could expand overland trade among Sub-Saharan African countries by about $250 billion over 15 years, with major direct and indirect benefits for the rural poor.  Financing the program would require about $20 billion for initial upgrading and $1 billion annually for maintenance. See Research Brief...

Resource Persons

• Forhad Shilpi
• Ioannis Kessides
• Shahid Khandker
• Susmita Dasgupta
• Uwe Deichmann

Documents
The policy research working papers below are drawn from the World Bank's institutional archives. Each link opens a page with an abstract of the document and several download options. Choose the 'light-weight documents' option for easy download.

You can also download other related documents. These include content-rich current outputs (updated document versions, miscellaneous documents, and web pages).