Infrastructure Gap in South Asia : Inequality of Access to Infrastructure Services

Biller, Dan ; Andres, Luis ; Herrera Dappe, Matias

World Bank Group, Washington, DC

关键词: ACCESS INDICATORS;    ACCESS TO EDUCATION;    ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY;    ACCESS TO INFORMATION;    ACCESS TO INFRASTRUCTURE;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-7033
RP-ID  :  WPS7033

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The South Asia region is home to thelargest pool of individuals living under the poverty line,coupled with a fast-growing population. The importance ofaccess to basic infrastructure services on welfare and thequality of life is clear. Yet the South Asia region'srates of access to infrastructure (sanitation, electricity,telecom, and transport) are closer to those of Sub-SaharanAfrica, the one exception being water, where the South Asiaregion is comparable to East Asia and the pacific and LatinAmerica and the Caribbean. The challenge of increasingaccess to these services across the South Asia region iscompounded by the unequal distribution of existing accessfor households. This study improves understanding of thisinequality by evaluating access across the region'sphysical (location), poverty, and income considerations. Thepaper also analyzes inequality of access across time, thatis, across generations. It finds that while the regressivityof infrastructure services is clearly present in South Asia,the story that emerges is heterogeneous and complex. Thereis no simple explanation for these inequalities, althoughcertainly geography matters, some household characteristicsmatter (like living in a rural area with a head of householdwho lacks education), and policy intent matters. If a poorercountry or a poorer state can have better access to a giveninfrastructure service than in a richer country or a richerstate, then there is hope that policy makers can adoptmeasures that will improve access in a manner in whichprosperity is more widely shared.