Regional Cooperation and Integration through Cross-Border Infrastructure Development in South Asia: Impact on Poverty

Abstract

"This paper examines the poverty reduction potential of regional cooperation in cross-border infrastructure within South Asia and identifies priority areas for intervention. It analyzes the direct links between cross-border infrastructure and beneficial impacts on poverty such as improved access to markets, health services, and education and the indirect links through an increase in productivity and growth. It discusses the complementary policies and investments needed to enhance the impact of regional infrastructure on the poor. Using cross-country data, it shows that road density is a significant variable in explaining the variation across countries in life expectancy at birth. The paper highlights the fact that life expectancy is more responsive to road density in landlocked countries. It finds that road density has a significantly positive impact on access to health services using state level data for India. "