ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews available evidence on the effects of road investment programmes on income distribution and access to services. It discusses the selection criteria used and the other assumptions made in planning the road programme in question. The projects reviewed range from individual feeder roads of a few kilometres in length, through networks of feeder roads, to major highways from a few hundred to several thousands of kilometres in length. Prior to the 1960s, transport investment in general and road investment in particular was regarded as indispensable to economic development. The relationship between transport and development has defied simple synthesis and remains paradoxical. Transport is clearly a necessary ingredient of nearly every aspect of economic and social development. The over-riding impression gained from reviewing available impact studies is of the paucity of evidence on the effects of road investment programmes on rural incomes and income distribution.
