ABSTRACT

Despite growing interest in place-based policies, their effects on long-run structural transformation remain underexplored, especially in developing countries. This study examines the combined impacts of infrastructure development (highway, industrial park, and school establishments) on agrarian communities in the Philippines using 40 years of multi-generation family data, satellite imagery, and administrative records. The results suggest that infrastructure investment has induced durable structural change by increasing the probability of employment in modern sectors and facilitating human capital accumulation. Both the demand and supply sides of labor are central to self-sustaining modernization through place-based policies.

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