Transport Corridors and Their Wider Economic Benefits : A Critical Review of the Literature
Transport corridors can generate wider economic benefits and costs through their effects on a potentially diverse set of development outcomes, such as economic growth, poverty, jobs, equity, environmental quality, and economic resilience. To advanc...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/667501516199287820/Transport-corridors-and-their-wider-economic-benefits-a-critical-review-of-the-literature http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29212 |
| Summary: | Transport corridors can generate wider
economic benefits and costs through their effects on a
potentially diverse set of development outcomes, such as
economic growth, poverty, jobs, equity, environmental
quality, and economic resilience. To advance understanding
of how corridors could generate wider economic benefits,
this paper undertakes a quantitative review of the
literature that estimates the economic benefits of large
transport infrastructure projects. It conducts a
meta-analysis of 234 estimated impacts found in 78 studies.
It focuses on roads, rails, and waterways because transport
corridors based on these modes have clearer potential for
economic spillovers than, for example, airline routes. The
conceptual structure for the review is guided by a simple
canonical model describing the policy maker's problem
in maximizing the net wider economic benefits of corridors.
The meta-analysis confirms that characteristics of
individual studies, as well as the placement and design of
the transport infrastructures systematically influence the
findings of the corridor studies. It also shows that, on
average, estimated impacts of corridor interventions on
economic welfare and equity tend to be beneficial, while
they are often detrimental for environmental quality, and
possibly also for social inclusion. Because, around this
average, impacts vary widely, policy makers could use
complementary policies and institutions to mitigate
potential trade-offs and support losers. To clarify the
nature and extent of these trade-offs and varied impacts
across locales and population groups, much more research is required. |
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