The effect of rural roads on consumption in Ethiopia

Abstract

PurposeThis study empirically examines the impact of rural roads on consumption of households in Ethiopia.Design/methodology/approachBoth descriptive statistics and econometric techniques are used to address the aforementioned objective. Specifically, quantile regression, fixed- and random-effect models are used to understand the impact of rural road quality on welfare.FindingsThe econometric analysis revealed that improving the quality of rural roads and/or creating access to all-weather roads raises households' average real consumption per capita by as much as 10%. The other transport indicator – mode of transport – also has a positive effect on real consumption per capita. The result indicated that real consumption per capita for households using the traditional mode of transport would increase by as much as 7% compared to those using foot as a major mode of transport. However, the fixed quantile estimation result revealed that rural road access has a positive and significant effect on consumption per capita only for the 0.8th and 0.9th percentiles, indicating that the access to roads is not pro-poor.Research limitations/implicationsImproving rural roads to a level of all-weather road standards and provision of agricultural transport facilities should be strategic priorities.Originality/valueThis study provides empirical evidence pertinent to the effect rural mobility has on the consumption of households as well as the pro-poorness of such investments in rural settings.

Modeling the determinants of HEI students’ continuance intention to use ChatGPT for learning: a stimulus–organism–response approach

“…In contemporary times, students are frequently labeled as "millennials" or "digital natives" because of their inclination to seamlessly incorporate new technologies into various facets of their daily lives, including the realm of education (Anega and Alemu, 2023). Language models like ChatGPT have seen a growing utilization across different educational levels, spanning from primary and secondary schools to tertiary and higher education environments (Tiwari et al, 2023).…”