Public Goods aim to improve individual welfare. We investigate the causal consequences of roads on well-being in 24 African countries, instrumenting paved roads by 19th Century hypothetical lines between major ports and cities. We have data on over individuals, and consider both their objective and subjective well-being, via access to four basic needs and the subjective evaluation of living conditions respectively. Our instrumental-variable analysis suggests that roads reduce material deprivation, by improving access to basic needs, but that there is no causal relation between the distance to a road and subjective living conditions. The benefit of roads in providing basic needs then seems to be offset by worse outcomes in other domains.

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1 November 2024

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World Development 1832024

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DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106691

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X2400161X

This Journal article is published under the centre's Community Wellbeing programme.