Using a road-level regression discontinuity design in Sierra Leone, we study the impacts
of improvements in rural road infrastructure on crop prices in rural markets. We show that
the improved roads reduced market prices of local crops. These price effects are stronger
in markets that are further from major urban centers and in less productive areas. In addition,
these price effects are reversed in areas with better cell phone penetration. We show
that our empirical findings are consistent with a search cost framework a la Mortensen, but `
inconsistent with other models, such as Bertrand competition, bilateral bargaining, Cournot
oligopsony