Road access has been proven to open opportunities in reaching new or diversified
employment activities that generally generate more revenues. At the same time, receiving
education provides specific skills valuable to enter in these activities. The objective of the paper
is therefore to assess the combined potential of road connectivity improvements and education
for poverty reduction. Using the Kagera Health and Development Surveys (KHDS) the paper
discusses the determinants of per capita consumption growth between 1991 and 2004 in
Tanzania. The results show that improved road access and education are complementary and
provide extra consumption growth, but the effect only appears for post-primary education and
for a not too sharp deterioration of road connectivity. No similar benefit exists for primary
education compared to receiving no instruction. Basic knowledge and skills acquired in primary
school are certainly not sufficient to allow reaching new employment and activity opportunities
opened up by the improvement in road connectivity. Roads impacts may be underestimated
(resp. overestimated) if investments are implemented in very low (resp. high) education
attainment regions.