01626351

Component

This paper offers empirical evidence regarding the impacts of rural road improvement on the poor in Cambodia. Structured face-to-face interview surveys were conducted in early 2016 – approximately one year after the completion of civil works – to collect data from the local poor on their ownership of travel mode options, travel behavior, and perceptions about their economic status before and after the improvement. The surveys covered 400 households in three rural areas along the improved rural roads, which have different socio-economic conditions. Three hypotheses were developed based on earlier studies and tested with the study’s dataset: (1) road improvement increase the ownership of wheeled- and/or motorized-modal options more significantly in the least poor area than in poorer areas; (2) people in the least poor area use the improved roads more frequently for economic purposes than those in poorer areas; and (3) people in the least poor area recognize the rise in their household income levels after the road improvement more than those in poorer areas. The study’s results showed that all the hypotheses were rejected. Possible reasons behind these rejections are the contribution of rural road improvement to interregional connectivity with economic centers, limitations in the variety of economic activities to generate job opportunities or raise income levels, and insufficient provision of educational and vocational facilities. In addition, the survey demonstrates that road improvement might reduce individual disposable incomes, particularly in poorer areas, and change the local economic structure rather than individual economic levels.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ABE90 Standing Committee on Transportation in the Developing Countries.

01618707

17-03012

English

18p

2017

Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Maps; References; Tables

Developing countries; Economic factors; Improvements; Rural highways; Travel behavior

Cambodia

Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Society

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2017 Paper #17-03012

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 8 2016 11:07AM