Access to infrastructure and human well-being: evidence from rural Nepal

ABSTRACT

This article documents the level of access to infrastructure and assesses its perceived impacts on human well-being in rural Nepal. The study found a more varied level of well-being in less remote communities and determined that the perceived impacts of access to infrastructure on human well-being is higher in more remote areas. Notably, access to roads received the highest priority among respondents, followed by drinking water and irrigation. The methodology and findings of this study have practical implications for rural development in hills and mountains where human settlements are highly dispersed and access is key to human well-being.

Cet article documente le niveau d'accès aux infrastructures et évalue son impact, tel que perçu, sur le bien-être humain dans le Népal rural. L'étude a révélé une variation plus importante du bien-être humain dans les communautés les moins éloignées et déterminé que, tel que perçu, l'impact de l'accès aux infrastructures sur le bien-être humain était plus important dans les zones les plus éloignées. Il est à noter que la priorité était accordée par les participants, en premier lieu à l'accès aux routes, puis à l'accès à l'eau potable et à l'irrigation. La méthodologie et les résultats de cette étude ont des implications pratiques pour le développement dans les collines et les montagnes où les établissements humains sont fortement dispersés et où l'accès aux infrastructures est crucial pour le bien-être humain.

El presente artículo documenta el nivel de acceso a infraestructura de los habitantes del ámbito rural de Nepal y evalúa la percepción de estos en torno a los impactos que ello provoca en su bienestar humano. En este sentido, el estudio comprobó la existencia de varios aspectos que redundan en el bienestar de las comunidades menos remotas, al tiempo que determinó que el hecho de contar con acceso a infraestructura hace que en las áreas más remotas los impactos percibidos en el bienestar humano sean más elevados. En particular, los participantes calificaron el acceso a carreteras como el aspecto más importante, seguido por el acceso a agua potable e irrigación. La metodología y los hallazgos del estudio cobran implicaciones prácticas para el desarrollo rural en cerros y montañas, donde los asentamientos humanos son muy dispersos y el acceso a infraestructura resulta vital para alcanzar el bienestar humano.

KEYWORDS:

• Labour and livelihoods – Poverty reduction
• Social sector – Education, Health, Water and sanitation
• Governance and public policy
• Aid – Development policies
• South Asia

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences (JSPS) under the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research No. 25885012. A preliminary version of this article was presented at the International Studies Association (ISA) Global South Caucus Conference 2015 held in January at the Singapore Management University, Singapore. I wish to thank questionnaire participants for their cooperation in the field survey and conference participants for their useful comments during and after the conference. I am also very grateful for anonymous referees for their very useful comments and suggestions to improve the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Jeet Bahadur Sapkota is an Assistant Professor at the University of Tsukuba’s Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences. His current research focuses on development impacts of access to infrastructure and globalisation on human well-being.

ORCID

Jeet Bahadur Sapkota http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9929-0439

Notes

1. For details on the concept of human development, see the Human Development Reports published annually by the United Nations Development Programme, at: http://hdr.undp.org/en (accessed 11 September 2016).

2. For details on the OHQ, see www.meaningandhappiness.com/oxford-happiness-questionnaire/214/ (accessed 23 February 2016).

3. A village development committee (VDC) was the smallest administrative unit in Nepal until recently. After the state restructured under the new Constitution of Nepal 2016, the smallest administrative unit is now the rural municipality, which has increased in size, power, and autonomy. In Nepal, there are currently 481 rural municipalities, 246 municipalities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities, and six metropolitan cities.

4. Currently, Ramche VDC belongs to Ward no. 9 of the Bahrabise Municipality. Baramchi and Gumba VDCs belong to Ward no. 5 and Ward no. 3 of the Jugal Rural Municipality, respectively.

5. OECD (n.d.). For a formal definition of the Gini index and examples, see www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Gini_supplement.html

6. An interview with a local health worker revealed this information.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science: [Grant Number 25885012].