The Impact of Road Infrastructure Development on Economic Growth and Urban-Rural Income Inequality in Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract

This study used the county-level panel data to assess the impact of road infrastructure development on regional economic growth and urban-rural income inequality in Inner Mongolia, China over the period 1999-2018. The analytical strategy involves the estimation of the dynamic equations for GDP per capita growth rate and urban-rural income inequality. The estimation results from the fixed effects model and the system generalized method of moments (S-GMM) revealed that road infrastructure quantity had a robust positive impact on economic growth while it had a robust negative impact on urban-rural income inequality across counties in Inner Mongolia during the period 1999-2018.