Transport Corridors and Their Wider Economic Benefits : A Critical Review of the Literature

Roberts, Mark ; Melecky, Martin ; Bougna, Theophile ; Xu, Yan Sarah

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: META ANALYSIS;    INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT;    TRANSPORT;    ECONOMIC GROWTH;    POVERTY REDUCTION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-8302
RP-ID  :  WPS8302

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Transport corridors can generate widereconomic benefits and costs through their effects on apotentially diverse set of development outcomes, such aseconomic growth, poverty, jobs, equity, environmentalquality, and economic resilience. To advance understandingof how corridors could generate wider economic benefits,this paper undertakes a quantitative review of theliterature that estimates the economic benefits of largetransport infrastructure projects. It conducts ameta-analysis of 234 estimated impacts found in 78 studies.It focuses on roads, rails, and waterways because transportcorridors based on these modes have clearer potential foreconomic spillovers than, for example, airline routes. Theconceptual structure for the review is guided by a simplecanonical model describing the policy maker's problemin maximizing the net wider economic benefits of corridors.The meta-analysis confirms that characteristics ofindividual studies, as well as the placement and design ofthe transport infrastructures systematically influence thefindings of the corridor studies. It also shows that, onaverage, estimated impacts of corridor interventions oneconomic welfare and equity tend to be beneficial, whilethey are often detrimental for environmental quality, andpossibly also for social inclusion. Because, around thisaverage, impacts vary widely, policy makers could usecomplementary policies and institutions to mitigatepotential trade-offs and support losers. To clarify thenature and extent of these trade-offs and varied impactsacross locales and population groups, much more research is required.