Promoting Economically Equitable Rural Road Development: Case Study Among Chinese Provinces

Abstract

Rural road networks play a fundamental role in the socioeconomic development and poverty alleviation in rural regions, especially in developing countries. However, lack of sufficient rural road construction fund is a very common phenomenon in the majority of developing countries. This paper proposes a method for allocating rural roadway construction funding in a more equitable manner. A methodology based on an index composed of a modified Gini coefficient formulation and the population weighted coefficient of variation is proposed to score geographic regions according to: (a) the relative equity of roadway construction to economic development; (b) the relative equity of economic development across populations within a region; and (c) the relative economic strength of individual regions. The methodology is illustrated by a case study of four representative Chinese provinces. The study and results of this paper can be used as a reference for policymakers at central or local levels when planning rural roadway construction fund allocations. Future research is suggested to refine the methodology and to ultimately incorporate it into a stakeholder driven funding allocation process.