Impact Evaluation of Road Improvements and Rural Poverty—Baseline Survey in the Ningxia Liupanshan Area of the People’s Republic of China

Abstract

Rural road improvements indirectly benefit the poor by generating more income opportunities. The Asian Development Bank is financing a major road-improvement project in rural areas of the People’s Republic of China. In order to assess the impacts of improved rural transport, two surveys are needed: a baseline survey conducted before project implementation and an ex-post survey conducted after the project’s completion. The impacts can be discerned through a comparison of the surveys’ results. This paper describes the methodology, implementation, and results of the baseline survey.