Land transport infrastructure

New estimates of the social rates of return on investment in road infrastructure in emerging market and developing economies highlight substantial unrealised gains from redirecting advanced-economy savings towards public investment in developing coun...

Transport policy in developing countries requires context-specific solutions grounded in evidence, as slow travel speeds, informal systems, gendered safety concerns, and institutional constraints mean that common fixes like congestion charging or BRT are not universally effective, though better-designed mobility systems can expand access to jobs, markets, and opportunity.

High-speed rail expansion in China boosted agricultural productivity, enabling labour and land to be reallocated from agriculture without reducing agricultural output.

Introducing new public buses in Lagos improved commuter welfare through lower fares and better service, but also reduced driver incomes and increased wait times in the private sector – highlighting the distributional trade-offs of public transit expa...

Ethiopia’s large-scale road expansion cut travel times to markets – boosting farm productivity, reshaping cropping patterns, and accelerating structural change.

Does the widespread availability of ride-hailing services in fast growing, congested cities in the developing world undermine the viability of potential investments in public mass rapid transit (MRT) systems? New evidence from Indonesia suggests that...

New evidence from Ethiopia reveals an unintended consequence of road construction: a sharp rise in infant deaths along key trade routes—which is potentially the result of hazardous waste dumping near roads.

How can simple changes to transport policy improve the efficiency and quality of informal transit networks in developing countries?