Overview

In many developing countries, aging or inadequate transportation networks are a binding constraint to economic growth.  The upgrading and expansion of the roadway network  (i.e., primary, secondary and rural) can reduce transportation costs, improve the level of service,  and provide important linkages to national, regional and international markets.  In addition to market access, MCC is investing in rural roads to provide access to social services such as health and education to the rural poor.  Through Fiscal Year 2007, MCC has committed $1.1 billion for roads and bridges.

Given the importance of road investments within the MCC portfolio, rigorous impact evaluations can provide important lessons for future MCC funding. Cost-benefit analysis of roads projects typically quantify two main benefit streams:

1. Saved travel time through the ability to drive faster on better roads yielding, in turn, increases in household income and firm value added
2. Reductions in wear and tear on vehicles, yielding savings in vehicle operation and maintenance expenditures

However, it is believed that these traditional ex-ante road evaluation models are limited, especially for rural roads, and that additional benefits may accrue due to improved access to social services that are not being captured.  The lack of post-project studies leaves certain questions unanswered -- e.g., who benefits from road improvements and how.  Therefore, as it has been doing to date, MCC will continue to focus on better understanding who is affected by road upgrades and through which channels.

Logic Model

MCC Impact Evaluations in Progress

Sort the table by clicking on the column headers. Arrows indicate ascending and descending order.

Country	Project/Activity	Focus of Evaluation	Methodology
El Salvador	Connectivity Project	Impact of road improvements on travel cost and time, land prices, and household income	Regression Discontinuity
Georgia	Samtskhe-Javakheti Road Rehabilitation Activity	How does the road rehabilitation effect/cause economic development, new businesses, and economic and social integration in the region?	Propensity Score Match and GIS analysis