Road construction and rural household income: Empirical evidence from village road paving in China

This paper explores the consequences of road paving projects in rural Chinese villages, which cost more than $100 billion annually since 2010 and reach nearly every household in rural China. Using the China Family Panel Studies and China Traffic Statistics Yearbook, we find that the paving road projects increase the income of rural households, especially ones with lower edu-cation levels and lower assets. The mechanism analysis also shows that the increase in household incomes mainly results from a rise in local employment. This paper contributes to the research on the economic consequences of road infrastructure in emerging economies.

Automated summary

This paper explores the economic consequences of road paving projects in rural Chinese villages. The findings show that these projects increase the income of rural households, especially those with lower education levels and lower assets. This contributes to understanding the economic impact of road infrastructure in emerging economies.