Infrastructure Development Index Research Articles

Infrastructure for sustainable energy access in Sub-Saharan Africa: leveraging social factors and natural capital

This study investigates the impact of infrastructure development on energy poverty in 28 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries over the period 2010-2021. Utilizing the Africa Infrastructure Development Index (AIDI) as a comprehensive measure, the research examines both linear and nonlinear effects of infrastructure development on energy poverty reduction, while also exploring its influence on renewable energy production, underscoring its contribution to achieving sustainable development goals. The findings reveal that enhanced infrastructure significantly improves electricity access and alleviates energy poverty. The results further suggest that infrastructure development is only effective in alleviating energy poverty when a certain level of social development and environmental quality is achieved. Employing sensitivity analyses with alternative energy poverty indicators as well as physical infrastructure indicators confirms the stability of these results. This study underscores the importance of integrated infrastructure policies that consider social and environmental factors to effectively address energy poverty and support sustainable development goals in SSA.

Measuring Levels of Infrastructure Development and its Impact on Regional Growth - Insights from Indonesia

Infrastructure development is a linchpin for regional growth, especially in emerging economies like Indonesia. There have been many debates over the necessity of infrastructure investment over direct economic stimuli. This study delves into the critical role of infrastructure in shaping regional dynamics in Indonesia. We employ the Infrastructure Development Index (IDI), a composite metric amalgamating various infrastructure clusters into a singular value. A sample of strategic region in Indonesia are observed in this research, classified into urban and non-urban areas to highlight the different levels of impact the infrastructure development brings. Several regional development indicators such as: (a) economic growth; (b) poverty rate; (c) gini index; (d) human development index; and (e) unemployment rate is used to explore its relationship with infrastructure development. This research shows a nuanced pattern where mainly urban areas exhibiting higher IDI value and higher impact on its regional growth and development. While non-urban areas still experiencing lower impact due to the difficulties in infrastructure access and the disparity of access between the areas. It indicates the prevailing urban bias in infrastructure development, needing an improved urban-rural linkage on overall economic input-output processes. In sum, this study provides further insights into the pivotal role of infrastructure in regional development in Indonesia, offering a roadmap for informed decision-making in the pursuit of comprehensive and sustainable regional progress.

Infrastructure and economic growth in ECOWAS member states: The Westerlund co-integration approach

This research explores the impact of infrastructure on member states' economic growth in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Utilizing panel secondary data sourced from the World Bank Development Indicators (WDI) and the African Infrastructure Development Index (AIDI) across all fifteen ECOWAS Member States over eighteen years, the study employs the panel Non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model and the Westerlund co-integration test for analysis. The findings reveal that investments in infrastructure, improvements in the African Development Index, and enhancements in the Electricity Composite Index significantly contribute to the economic growth of ECOWAS countries. Specifically, infrastructure investment is associated with a 0.01 per cent increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the ECOWAS countries studied. In comparison, the African Development Index and the Electricity Composite Index are linked to increases in GDP by 0.292 per cent and 0.987 per cent, respectively, in the long term. Based on these outcomes, the study recommends that ECOWAS country authorities enhance policies to optimize government spending on infrastructure quality. Furthermore, adopting quality-enhancing and efficiency-driven financing policies in infrastructure is advocated to complement ECOWAS's ongoing infrastructural development efforts. The realization of these recommendations hinges on the availability of accurate data for informing decisions and guiding policymakers. Hence, the study underscores the need for the ECOWAS Commission to bolster its capacity for collecting reliable data on infrastructure variables and other indicators. It also proposes that future research should focus on promoting sub-regional peer-review mechanisms for infrastructure indicators among member states and establishing structures to fortify infrastructure in West Africa.

Bond Market Development and Infrastructure Development Index; an Analysis of African Countries with the Portfolio Investment Bonds

This paper analyses the empirical relationship between portfolio investment bonds and Infrastructure development index in Africa. The study seeks to establish if there is a statistically significant relationship between the portfolio investment bonds and infrastructure development index in Africa. Panel data of 13 countries for the period of 9 years from 2013 to 2022 was adopted. The study is supported by positivism philosophical underpinnings, a quantitative approach, multiple case design. It is a triangulation of correlation, regression, and hypothesis -testing through the linear dynamic panel data Generalized method of Momentum (GMM) model. This model estimates the empirical relationship between the key variables under study. The results from the study indicate a significant positive relationship between the portfolio dollar amount logged twice from the world bank data indicators and the infrastructure index from the Africa Infrastructure development Indicator (AIDI) also logged twice based on the model requirements. Therefore, countries that receive higher portfolio dollar amounts realize more infrastructure development. It is therefore recommended for African countries to create a Political, Economic and Regulatory supportive policies for bond market development especially the portfolio investment bonds. This paper ascertains a relationship between bond market development and Africa infrastructure development index. And develops policy discussions regarding infrastructure financing though a well-developed bond market with a variety of bond types

Infrastructure development and poverty eradication in sub-Saharan Africa; Its effect and transmission channels

Africa's infrastructure endowments have increased recently, including; transportation, electricity, Information and Communications Technology, and water and sanitation. Meanwhile, while poverty rates have fallen in other regions, such as Asia, they have risen in Africa. This research sought to assess: (a) the influences of infrastructure on poverty and (b) how infrastructure has moderated the impacts of income inequality, urbanisation, education, employment, and environmental quality on poverty. The findings from the generalized method of moments estimator for 40 African economies between 2003 and 2020 showed that infrastructure development reduced poverty. Various types of infrastructure development indices produced the same results. When a composite infrastructure development index was used, a positive impact on poverty was further confirmed. Additionally, developing infrastructure in SSA will strengthen the positive effects of; education, employment, and environmental quality on poverty. Additionally, the development of the infrastructure sector in the region will mitigate income inequality and urbanisation's negative effects on poverty. Based on this study's results, a discussion of policy implications has been provided.

Achieving sustainable development goals through water and sanitation in sub-saharan africa: The role of industrialization

Previous research has focused on the effect of infrastructure development on industrialization. However, the industrialization process can also be a source of social transformation. Thus, the objective of this study is to analyze the impact of industrialization on some indicators of sustainable development in particular the infrastructure development index, access to water and access to sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The data was collected from 27 countries in sub-Saharan Africa from 2000-2016. The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and Generalized Least Square (GLS) methods were used to estimate the parameters of our econometric models. The results of the study show that industrialization has a positive and significant impact on all infrastructure indicators. Furthermore, tariff rates and political stability are also explanatory factors for the sustainable development indicators. Therefore, SSA countries which are mostly endowed with natural resources must increase their industrialization process in order to improve the social structures of their populations through the development of infrastructure. More precisely, the exploitation and transformation of their raw materials may help fight against underdevelopment through inclusive growth and the development of infrastructure.

An Empirical Study of Infrastructure and Economic Development in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir

This study compares the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir in terms of infrastructure and economic development and finds the districts are trailing behind in terms of infrastructure and economic development. The study also attempts to find a descriptive association between infrastructure and economic development across the districts of Jammu and Kashmir vis-a-vis indices. The study uses the secondary source of information collected from the district-level statistical handbook and Digest of Statistics, Directorate of Economics & Statistics, J&K, 2020–2021. For estimating the infrastructure and economic development across the districts of Jammu and Kashmir, the composite infrastructure development index and composite economic development index have been made by employing the Principal Component Analysis method. The study employs the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett’s Tests of Statistics in order to test the appropriateness of factor analysis for the data. The findings of the study reveal that there exist wide disparities in terms of both the infrastructure and economic development across the districts of Jammu and Kashmir and the large gap in the availability of basic infrastructure facilities across the districts describes the inter-district disparity in the economic development.

Investigating the Effect of Infrastructural Development on Economic Growth in Uganda

Aim: The study used quarterly time series data to investigate the effect of infrastructural development on Economic Growth in Uganda.
 Place and Duration of Study: the study utilized data for the period between 2005-2020 obtained from the 2022 World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI) and the African Development Bank for African Infrastructure Development Index (AIDI).
 Methodology: The study used the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model to analyze the relationship between infrastructure development and Economic Growth in Uganda.
 Results: The findings from the study indicated a positive relationship between AIDI and Economic growth in Uganda. Overall improvement in AIDI considering the four infrastructure components creates an enabling environment for other factors of production to operate effectively and efficiently hence spurring economic growth in the country.
 Conclusion: The findings therefore implies that investment in infrastructure should consider all the four infrastructure components that comprise the AIDI namely, Transport, Electricity, ICT and Water and Sanitation for Uganda to be able to fully benefit from its investment in infrastructure in both the short and long run.

Infrastructure Development and Economic Growth in East Africa: Quantity versus Quality Dimensions Using Panel-ARDL Approach

Infrastructure development is one of the key drivers for economic growth. As a result, dealing with the quantity and quality dimensions of infrastructure development has attracted the interest of researchers in recent times. The main objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between infrastructure development and economic growth in both quantity and quality dimensions. The study employs Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (PARDL) method. The results of the study reveal that infrastructure development quantity has a positive and significant effect on economic growth. The results show that in the long run, a one unit rise in the African Infrastructure Development Index (AIDI) leads to an increase in economic growth of 0.31%, on average; while in the short run, a one unit rise in the African Infrastructure Quality Index (AIQI) boosts the economic growth by 1.4%, but in the long run it decreases the GDP per capita by 1.99 percentage points. The interaction result shows that the relationship between infrastructure development and economic growth depends on the level of capital formation in East African countries. The elasticity result shows that gross capital formation has a larger marginal effect on economic growth in countries with a high AIDI and vice versa. Finally, the study recommends that East African countries should adopt strategies and policies that will increase the quantity and quality of infrastructure development, as well as a capital formation strategy accompanied by human capital development and high institutional quality.

Road Infrastructure Development Index for Urban Residential Layouts Using Satellite Images and the Analytical Hierarchy Process

Road Infrastructure Development Index for Urban Residential Layouts Using Satellite Images and the Analytical Hierarchy Process

Infrastructure Development and Economic Growth: A Comparative Study of Developing and Emerging Economies of Asia

The present study attempts to test our prime hypothesis―whether infrastructure development is a discernible factor responsible for the recent advancement in the Asian region― by making a group comparison of South Asian (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and SriLanka) South East Asian countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea), in order to study the development paradigm of growing Asia via the infrastructure development. We have taken into account three profound factors for infrastructure development: transportation,telecommunication and energy development, and constructed an Infrastructure Development Index (IDI) based on these factors. Using panel data ranging from 1980 to 2017, we have employed different econometric techniques to probe the influence of physical infrastructure on economic growth in selected Asian countries. Our findings showed that besides a number of confounding factors, the development in physical infrastructure substantially explain the economic growth in selected Asian countries. Our findings suggest that the selected Asian Countries particularly the South Asian countries should emphasize on the physical infrastructure for sustainable long run economic growth.

How infrastructure development and technical efficiency change caused resources consumption in BRICS countries: Analysis based on energy, transport, ICT, and financial infrastructure indices

Improved environmental quality and resource efficiency are essential policy plans for emerging economies. The vulnerability to climatic adversities initiates the need to construct and identify how to evaluate and ensure resource efficiency. Although many studies explore multiple deriving factors of resource consumption, very little is known regarding the integration of infrastructure, technical change, and trade-adjusted resource consumption. Hence, this study intends to examine the empirical links between disaggregated infrastructure development, technological efficiency change, and resource consumption using annual data of BRICS countries from 1990 to 2018. In doing so, we employ a cross-sectional augmented auto-regressive distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) estimator for short-term and long-term estimations that allows heterogeneity in the slope parameters and dependencies across countries. The results exhibit that cumulative and disaggregated (transport, energy, financial, and information and communication (ICT)) infrastructure development increase resources consumption across all model specifications; however, the magnitude of different infrastructure indices vary, such as transport and energy (financial and ICT) infrastructure producing the highest (lowest) impact. In contrast, technical efficiency changes and their interactive terms with each infrastructure development index decrease resource consumption, implying that the resource-depleting consequence of infrastructure development can be neutralized with higher technical efficiency, and the highest decoupling exists in energy and ICT infrastructure. Similar results are obtained using the Common Correlated Effect Mean Group (CCEMG) estimator. These results provide substantial policy implications.

Determinants of FDI inflows to West Africa: Prospects for regional development and globalization

Abstract This paper examines the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow into West Africa. FDI is regarded as the central engine for growth. Such inflows are not often satisfactory, both in terms of their volume and in terms of their sectoral distribution, particularly in developing countries. The study carried out a unit root test using the Im-Pesaran-shin (IPS) method, which revealed that four out of many variables were stationary at first difference, while other variables were stationary at level. Consequently, the Kao co-integration test methodology was used to analyze the long-run relationship. Thus, the regression analysis was carried out using the Panel ARDL method in an equation with a 50-year observation period. Concerning the remaining seven equations with shorter time series observations, the Pooled OLS estimation method was used to analyze the factors determining the inflow of FDI. The results indicate that financial development has a negative effect on FDI flows (and hence on globalization processes) in West Africa, while trade openness, institutional composite index and control of corruption have positive effects on FDI and hence increase globalization tendency. Based on these findings, the study recommends, among other things, that the authorities in West African countries vigorously pursue trade liberalization policy as an effort to globalize the region through FDI inflows. The study examined the macroeconomic determinants on FDI alongside institutional and socio-political determinants that are difficult to study in the case of West Africa as a region. The use of a composite institutional quality index, which combines multiple indicators of institutional quality, is another novelty of this research. Another unique contribution of the study is the use of the Africa Infrastructure Development Index (AIDI), which serves as a composite infrastructure index, as an explanatory variable.

Dairy infrastructure development index: measuring regional inequalities acrossdistricts of Gujarat

Infrastructure development is critical to sustain and attain optimum output from the rapidly growing Indian dairy sector. The existing studies indicate the need to improve the dairy infrastructure; however, the need varies across regions. This study analyses the disparity in the dairy infrastructure development of one of the highly dairy progressive State – Gujarat - using a Principal Component Approach (PCA). The results indicate that there exists nearly a 54% disparity in the dairy infrastructure facility among the districts of Gujarat. The index value varies from 0.04 for Dang to 0.66 for Banaskantha districts of Gujarat. The findings pointed towards a higher association of existence of farmer collectives and infrastructure development in the state. Development indicators to be prioritized for improving the level of dairy infrastructure in the low performing districts are also highlighted. The study suggests that the existing inequalities can be reduced by supporting and strengthening the already existing institutions like milk cooperatives and farmer producer companies or by incentivizing farmer groups to create one.

Linear and non‐linear effects of infrastructures on inclusive human development in Africa

AbstractThe objectives of this paper are to verify the linear and the non‐linear effects of infrastructural development on inclusive human development in Africa. The results of the system generalized method of moments (system GMM) estimations show a positive effect of infrastructural development on inclusive development across all the infrastructural development indexes employed, except the information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructural composite index, which presents an insignificant negative effect. Besides, a non‐linear effect of infrastructures on inclusive development is established across all the infrastructure indicators except for the ICT indicator. Negative thresholds for complementary policies are established for the African Infrastructure Development Index (AIDI) and the transport index whereas positive thresholds are apparent for the electricity index and the water and sanitation infrastructure index (WSS). Accordingly, in order to sustain the positive incidence of the AIDI and transport index on human development, complementary policies should be engaged to avoid an overall negative effect on human development when the indexes are, respectively, 31.12 and 25.56. In the same vein, the electricity index and WSSI should exceed critical levels of, respectively, 49.79 and 41.92, to engender an overall positive effect on inclusive human development.

Влияние инфраструктуры на размещение населения и развитие регионов России

High divergence of demographic and socio-economic development significantly hinders the sustainable growth of the Russian economy. This article analyses the influence of infrastructure on population distribution and development of Russian regions. The study focuses on theoretical and practical issues related to identifying the features of infrastructure development as a factor of settlement and formation of population, considering the migration attractiveness of Russian regions. The research aimed to reveal a correlation between the regional infrastructure development and population distribution characterised by its density and net migration. To this end, we calculated the correlation between these indicators of population distribution and development indices of transport, energy, social, communal and telecommunications infrastructure. Additionally, the correlation between gross regional product and the same infrastructure development indices was estimated. The correlation analysis revealed the presence of a weak positive relationship between the regional population density, net migration, and all infrastructure development indices, except for social one. The strongest positive relationship is observed between the regional population density and the transport infrastructure development index. Good transport accessibility gives people easier access to other types of infrastructure and consequently increases the spatial connectivity and demographic potential of certain areas. Infrastructure development greatly influences not only social indicators of regional development but also economic ones, as shown by the correlation between gross regional product and development indices of transport, telecommunications and energy infrastructure. Thus, according to the conducted statistical analysis, the existing but weak relationship between infrastructure development indices and population distribution confirms the presence of a set of factors, where infrastructure is not the main one. Nevertheless, the removal of infrastructure constraints and an increase in the infrastructure quality and availability will help overcome both the demographic and economic contraction of Russia.

Analysis of Urban Infrastructures and Facilities in Pakhribas Municipality, Dhankuta, Nepal

The study presents condition of spread of urban infrastructures to over the Pakhribas municipality, Dhankuta, Nepal. Both the primary and secondary data were used for the study. Secondary data was collected from municipal profile of Pakhribas municipality and the primary data i.e., field observation, household questionnaire survey and focus group discussion were carried out for identify existing condition of the physical infrastructure, the access of the local people to the infrastructure, and the expectation of the dwellers with the municipality. Statistical analysis was preformed through arithmetic mean, population density and infrastructure development index. The result shows ward number four has the highest population density, and the people have more access to urban facilities including heath facilities and schools. The rest wards of the municipality have similar condition with its neighboring rural municipalities in terms of infrastructures and facilities. Among the total households most of them (90.45%) use pipe water for drinking. Most households (95.02%) use hydroelectricity. Most of the area of municipality 48 have easy access for the transportation with different status of road i. e. feeder road, district road and Highway. There have eight recreation centers within the municipality, which prompted domestic tourism in the region. The information screened through this study provided the overall infrastructure and facilities status of the municipality.

The Unevenness of Construction Market Development and Regional Infrastructure Development in Russia

Aim. The presented study aims to address the issues of the unevenness of construction market development and regional infrastructure development in the Russian Federation.Tasks. The authors analyze the scale of the construction markets in Russian regions and compare it with the level of infrastructure development.Methods. This study uses statistical methods of information processing, including the index method, ranking, and expert assessment. Input data for the analysis include official statistical reports of the Federal State Statistics Service (major socio-economic indicators and indicators of construction activity development in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation), analytical reviews of InfraOne Research — Russian infrastructure: development index 2020, and data from the SPARK service.Results. The study examines the specific features of regional construction market development and divides regions into five groups based on the scale of construction markets. The authors assess the relationship between the volume of construction works and the scale of the contractor market with the values of the infrastructure development index and the volume of housing commissioning. It is concluded that there is a mutual influence between the scale of the construction market and the level of infrastructure development. The results of the study can be used in the development (updating) of strategies for the development of the construction complex and infrastructure, as well as in the implementation of government policy in this area.Conclusions. Based on the analysis of the volume of construction works, Russian regions are divided into five groups depending on the scale of the construction market. The scale is assessed based on the extent of the region’s contribution to the total volume of construction works performed in the Russian Federation. Assessment of the relationship between the volume of construction works and the scale of the contractor market with the values of the infrastructure development index indicates that regions with a large volume of construction works have a higher infrastructure development index. The volume of construction works and the number of construction companies do not always have an effect the infrastructure development index.

Sustainable Malaria Control Policy and Infant Mortality in an Agrarian Economy: Evidence from Nigeria

Sustainable implementation of policy to control malaria is sine qua non to reduce the infant mortality rate especially in agrarian economies like Nigeria where malaria is common. This study examined the relationship between infant mortality rate and government expenditure on malaria (GEM) (proxy for health policy as explanatory variable), per capita income, infrastructure development index (IDI), government expenditure on education and health (as control variables) using data from 1990 to 2019 obtained from the World Bank and African Development Bank database. The unit root test conducted showed that all the variables were not stationary at first difference. The co-integration test established a long run equilibrium relationship between the variables which suggested the use of the Error Correction Model. The analysis of the estimated coefficients in the model showed that IDI and GEM significantly reduce infant mortality rate at P<0.05. Improvement in government funding to control malaria and efforts to develop infrastructure especially in the rural agrarian communities is recommended.

Analysis of the two-way causal nexus between macroeconomic factors and infrastructure development: the experience of selected African countries

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyze the two-way causal nexus between macroeconomic factors such as foreign aid, industrialization, economic growth, population growth, urbanization, control of corruption and the infrastructure development index of the top-ranking African countries from 2003 to 2018.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts various econometric tools such as cross-sectional dependence test, panel unit root and cointegration test and Dumitrescu and Hurlin panel Granger causality test in ascertaining the relevant relationships between the variables under consideration.FindingsThe main findings of the Granger causality test result revealed a bidirectional causal relationship between foreign aid and infrastructure and between urbanization and infrastructure. The study also found unidirectional causality running from population growth to infrastructure while a zero causal relationship existed between industrialization and infrastructure, economic growth and infrastructure and lastly, between control of corruption and infrastructure. The study concludes that the major macroeconomic factors that influence infrastructure development in these selected African countries are foreign aid, population explosion and urbanization. Also, their high infrastructure development index has causal influence in only attracting more foreign aid and also promoting urban expansion.Originality/valueTo the best of the author's knowledge, the study is unique as it is the first to determine the two-way causal nexus between macroeconomic factors and infrastructure development using a sample of the top ten African countries in infrastructure ranking. The findings reflect the current situation in Africa.