The evaluation of the Transport Project and Farm to Market Roads Activity aimed to answer whether or not improved conditions throughout the road network:
• Lowered transport costs and travel time for businesses, including farm households;
• Provided better access to a wider range of job opportunities for individuals (labor market effects);
• Lowered the price of consumables and inputs by increasing competition and reducing barriers to entry posed by poor transport infrastructure; and
• Improved access to health establishments and schools
The overall expected result of these changes was an increase in overall incomes and employment at the household level. To comprehensively evaluate the impact of the MCA Honduras Transportation project, the Independent Evaluator used two methods: (i) a model-based approach, in which the treatment effect is represented by change in travel time, and the program impact is represented as a function of change in travel time. The model relies heavily on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data for several purposes, including the estimation of changes in travel time; and (ii) HDM-IV analysis.