2013 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Human Development Impacts of Infrastructure in developing countries: A Case of Nepal and Cross-country Studies
| Project/Area Number |
25885012
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
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| Research Institution | University of Tsukuba |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2013-08-30 – 2015-03-31
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| Keywords | 経済政策 / 経済統計学 / 経済発展論 / 国際協力論 / 南アジア |
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| Research Abstract |
The research is conducted in accordance with the schedule and all the objectives of the research are achieved. A summary of the research achievements are as follows.
* A comprehensive field work conducted in rural villages of Nepal. Main achievements of the field works are given below.
First, a household and community level data was collected through a household survey of 100 randomly selected household from 10 purposefully selected communities of three remote villages of Sindhupalchok district, Nepal. This collected micro level data on access to infrastructure of the household and community and their socioeconomic profile will be the key input of the overall output of this research project.
Second, a reliable network with several local NGOs, local government authorities and development workers has been established which could be very helpful for getting missing data and further information while analyzing the data. This network would also be helpful for future research project.
Third, a network with national level policy makers at the capital city, Kathmandu, is also established. Such networks are helpful to bring the local research outputs at national context.
* A working paper has been written which is based on the review of the literature and cross country data. This research output will be presented and get feedback in a couple of international conferences in this year.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
1: Research has progressed more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Given the short duration of the research (about a half year), the research activities were challenging too some extent. However, all the activities were completed on time as expected. Main reasons are outlined below.
* The principle investigator of the project went to very remote areas of three rural villages of mountainous and hilly region of Nepal and conducted comprehensive household survey of 100 households. Reaching there in winter season where is challenging where most of the areas have no road, electricity and communication facility. Some of the areas even have no mobile phone connectivity.
* A comprehensive micro data is now ready to analyze. This data will provide a solid foundation for the research project.
* Good networking was another reason for the quality research. Established network at the very grass-root level helps a lot on data collection.
* The working paper is already scheduled to present in two international conferences in China and Argentina.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
The research agenda of this project is urgently important because most of the hills and mountainous areas in the word is lagging behind in the development due to a shortage of infrastructure. Research in this agenda is also limited because such areas are hard to reach, hence the research will be continued in the future, as well. Thus, following promotional activities will be done to promote this research agenda.
* The research output of this project will be disseminated soon after completing the analysis not only in international conferences but also at the local community from where the data was collected.
* Local governments and NGOs will be focused on providing the research output with advice, because the research output will be very helpful to design infrastructure development program at local level.
* Research activities and the results will also be disseminated through the personal webpages of the principal researcher.
* It is expected to create an interactive website next year.
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