Transport plays a crucial role inconnecting people to goods and services and fosteringsustainable development. The literature links improvedtransport infrastructure to economic growth and povertyreduction through five key mechanisms: (1) reducingtransport and production costs, (2) creating jobs, (3)expanding productive capacity, (4) improving access tomarkets and basic services like health and education, and(5) reducing prices of final goods and services. Thesebenefits depend on supportive conditions in other sectors,such as access to credit, functioning land markets, lowtrade barriers, and so on. Therefore, any assessment ofpotential gains from transport infrastructure and servicesshould also account for the interaction with complementarymarkets. However, the analysis of such interactions,assessing how and when transport infrastructure can helpreduce poverty and income inequality, is largely missingfrom the literature, leaving significant knowledge gapsacross the spectrum of transportation settings. This notehighlights existing findings and some limitations in theliterature on three basic types of transport infrastructure:large projects such as regional or national highways andrailroads; rural transport; and transport in urban areas.
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