Because many rural poor live in areas far away from markets, we
investigate whether better road access could help improve their
livelihood and reduce rural poverty. We use three waves of a
primary panel survey at the household level conducted in 18
remote natural villages in China to study how road access shapes
farmers’ agricultural production patterns and input uses and
affects rural poverty. Our results show that access to roads is
strongly associated with specialization in agricultural
production. In natural villages with better road access, farmers
plant fewer numbers of crops, purchase more fertilizer, and
invest more money in labor. In combination with such factors,
road connections improve household agricultural income—in
particular, cash income—and contribute to poverty reduction in
the surveyed villages. However, better access to rural roads
does not appear to bring about significant changes in
nonagricultural income. Evidence from rural China International
Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)