Infrastructures as Catalysts: Precipitating Uneven Patterns of Development from Large-Scale Infrastructure Investments

Abstract

While infrastructure investments in developing regions may bring about aggregate benefits, the distribution of those benefits cannot be ignored. The present paper examines such distributional effects based on two illustrations: rural roads in Ethiopia and flood control systems in Bangladesh. In both cases, the infrastructures promote particular development patterns towards market-economic transformations and integration. We liken the introduction of these infrastructures to the addition of a catalyst in a chemical reaction. Rural roads, for example, catalyse existing flows of agricultural labour, while flood control catalyses agricultural productivity. Taking the analogy a step further, the effects of a catalyst are known to vary due to the presence of so-called inhibitors and promoters. Applying this to the two cases, the paper reveals that, among other factors, the ownership (or lack thereof) of modes of transportation in Ethiopia and land resources in Bangladesh represent significant promoters (or inhibitors) that can help to explain the unequal distribution of benefits. This question is by no means new; past technical assistance programmes were already fiercely criticized for exacerbating inequalities. Today, commercial and political interests are again intensifying infrastructural investments in developing regions with profound impacts on local economies and livelihoods. Revisiting the question of distribution is, therefore, as relevant as ever.

Benefit Distribution of Community-Based Infrastructure: Agricultural Roads in Indonesia

“…Vehicle ownership is not a limiting factor in the distribution of benefits in the case of agricultural roads in Garut District. This finding is different from the results of a study in Ethiopia [22]. In four villages observed, farmers have not used private vehicles to transport agricultural products.…”

Variety of indigenous peoples’ opinions of large infrastructure projects: The TIPNIS road in the Bolivian Amazon

“…On the one side, the share of people who favored the road was higher among people in households with fewer adults and higher income. We do not have a clear explanation of why the number adults in a household was associated with a lower probability of favoring the road, but the finding that households with higher income and living in villages with existing road access are more likely to favor the road are in line with the large number of references to the potential economic opportunities offered by the road and with previous works showing that people with stronger links to the market economy seem to be the ones reaping most benefits from the opening of new roads (Angelsen, 2001(Angelsen, , 2012Perz et al, 2010;Rammelt, 2018).…”

Effects of institutional capacity, infrastructure governance, and equity on state- and nation-building processes in Ethiopia

“…This also means that the links between infrastructure investment and economic growth could be influenced by institutional quality (Okoh and Ebi, 2013). Nevertheless, insufficient attention has been typically paid to the development of the necessary institutions to operate and maintain infrastructures in Ethiopia (Rammelt, 2018).…”

“…A review of the literature indicated that there is gradually a consensus that economic development is a multidimensional process that includes interactions between different goals of development and therefore would need systematically designed policies and strategies (Rammelt, 2018;Ashenafi, 2017). Specifically, infrastructure equity issues are complex and multifaceted.…”