Doctoral Dissertation Research in Geography and Regional Science

对公路和其他形式的有形基础设施的投资如何影响发展中国家区域经济发展的研究往往侧重于大规模经济活动。然而，在过去几十年里，发展中国家经济增长的主要份额来自小型企业，其中一些在正式的法律结构内运作，而另一些则没有。许多国家集中投资于基础设施，使较大的城市中心受益，但往往对较小的城市和农村地区造成了相对不利的影响。这份博士论文提案将研究肯尼亚农村地区基础设施投资、小型企业的建立以及市场中心和附近地点的增长之间的关系。将通过普查清单和财务记录确定现有和潜在的SSE，将对SSE样本中的领导人进行调查，以确定当前和预期的基础设施投资如何影响区位决策，并将开发更一般的基础设施改善对区域经济影响的模型。该项目将提供宝贵的数据和分析，说明改善发展中国家基础设施的决定如何影响农村地区的经济活力。虽然侧重于肯尼亚的案例研究，但该项目的见解将对在其他地方开展相关工作的人有很大帮助。该项目还将为一位有前途的年轻学者提供一个继续发展独立研究技能的绝佳机会。

Studies of how investments in roads and other forms of physical infrastructure affect regional economic development in developing nations have tended to focus on large-scale economic activities. Over the last few decades, however, a major share of the economic growth in developing nations has been in small-scale enterprises (SSEs), some of which operate within formal legal structures, some of which do not. The concentration of investments in infrastructure in many nations have benefitted larger urban centers, often to the relative detriment of smaller cities and rural areas. This doctoral dissertation proposal will examine the relationships between infrastructure investments, the establishment of small-scale enterprises, and the growth of market centers and nearby locales in rural parts of Kenya. Existing and potential SSEs will be identified through census inventories and financial records, leaders from a sample of SSEs will be surveyed to determine how current and perceived investments in infrastructure affect locational decisions, and a more general model of regional economic impacts of infrastructure improvements will be developed. This project will provide valuable data and analyses of how decisions to improve the infrastructure within developing countries affect the economic vitality of rural areas. Although focusing on a case study in Kenya, the insights from this project will be of great use to persons conducting related work elsewhere. This project also will provide an excellent opportunity for a promising young scholar to continue to develop independent research skills.