The Impact of Agricultural Extension and Roads on Poverty and Consumption Growth in Fifteen Ethiopian Villages |
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| Authors: | Stefan Dercon Daniel O Gilligan John Hoddinott Tassew Woldehanna |
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| Institution: | Stefan Dercon is professor of development economics with the Centre for the Study of African Economics, University of Oxford. Dr Daniel O. Gilligan is senior research fellow and Dr John Hoddinott is deputy division director with the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC. Dr Tassew Woldehanna is senior lecturer with the Department of Economics, Addis Ababa University. |
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| Abstract: | This article investigates whether public investments that led to improvements in road quality and increased access to agricultural extension services led to faster consumption growth and lower rates of poverty in rural Ethiopia. Estimating an Instrumental Variables model using Generalized Methods of Moments and controlling for household fixed effects, we find evidence of positive impacts with meaningful magnitudes. Receiving at least one extension visit reduces headcount poverty by 9.8 percentage points and increases consumption growth by 7.1 percentage points. Access to all-weather roads reduces poverty by 6.9 percentage points and increases consumption growth by 16.3 percentage points. These results are robust to changes in model specification and estimation methods. |
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| Keywords: | Ethiopia extension growth poverty roads |
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