Health care access is an important policy concern, especially in rural areas. It is especially challenging in developing countries, where rural residents are poorer and less likely to be insured than those living in urban areas. Using the case of Liberia, this paper examines the effects of...

Infrastructure is viewed as a crucial ingredient to foster growth and productivity. Amid the post-global financial crisis slowdown, Sub-Saharan Africa is in dire need to continue the growth momentum it experienced during the period of the Africa Rising narrative. An emerging consensus in the...

International connections through trade, foreign direct investment, migration, the Internet, and other channels are critical for the transmission of knowledge and growth and form macroeconomic linkages. But how much knowledge is transmitted to a country is not only the result of the overall...

Nearly one billion people worldwide live in rural areas without access to the paved road network. This paper measures the impacts of India's USD 40 billion national rural road construction program using regression discontinuity and data covering every individual and firm in rural India. The main...

Health care access is a challenge in rural areas in Africa. On the demand side, rural people are often poor, and transport connectivity is typically bad in rural and remote areas. Because of limited transport connectivity, the quality of health care services provided is also often compromised....

This paper presents a methodology to identify key priority areas for transport investments. The methodology uses a geospatial data-driven approach and then proposes an innovative economic analysis for project appraisal. The two main steps involve (i) prioritization of road interventions based on...

How have house prices evolved in the long-run? This paper presents annual house price indices for 14 advanced economies since 1870. Based on extensive data collection, we are able to show for the first time that house prices in most industrial economies stayed constant in real terms from the...

This report explores the accessibility challenges that people face in remote areas. It demonstrates how state support can ensure access to essential services and reduce social and economic isolation where private markets fail to provide adequate transport connections. It provides a...