Effects Of Transport Infrastructure Research Articles

Pain or gain? The effects of transportation infrastructure on labor costs in China 1

Using the introduction of high-speed rail (HSR) in Chinese cities as an exogenous shock, we find that improved transportation infrastructure connectivity increases the labor costs of listed companies in peripheral cities and that this effect is more pronounced for non-state-owned (vs. state-owned) enterprises and firms with a higher growth rate. We find two channels for the effect: an increase in labor demand and a decrease in labor supply. In addition, increased labor costs, accompanied by improved profitability, indicate that the HSR introduction promotes firms’ long-term development. Our study highlights the importance of the construction of transportation infrastructure for labor costs and firm development.

Examining the Relationship between Transportation Infrastructure, Urbanization Level and Rural-Urban Income Gap in China

The development of transportation infrastructure plays a pivotal role in the regional economy from multiple dimensions. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between transportation infrastructure development and income inequality in urban and rural areas of China. The study utilizes panel data from 30 provinces, spanning the years 2010 to 2020, and employs the spatial Dubin model to measure and test the impact of transportation infrastructure on the urban-rural income gap. Furthermore, an intermediary effect test method is used to investigate the potential mediating effect of urbanization in this relationship. The results indicate that transportation infrastructure has a significantly negative direct, indirect, and total effect on the urban-rural income gap, with the indirect effect being greater than the direct effect. This suggests that transportation infrastructure can effectively reduce income disparities, with a noticeable spatial spillover effect. The level of urbanization plays a significant intermediary effect on the effect of transportation infrastructure on the urban-rural income gap, highlighting the role of transportation infrastructure in improving urbanization and narrowing income disparities. These findings underscore the importance of enhancing both the level of urbanization and cooperation between neighbouring regions in order to maximize the benefits of transportation infrastructure development for reducing income disparities and promoting regional balance in China.

How China is mitigating resource curse through infrastructural development?

With the aim to stimulate economic activities, an effective and stable financial system is indispensable in each country, and meanwhile, natural resources should help to promote economic and financial development in that country. Motivated by this, we examine the effect of natural resources on financial development with the cointegration method, the cointegration regression (namely FMOLS and DOLS), and wavelet coherence approach in China. Mainly, we take the effect of transportation infrastructure into account and utilize economic growth as a control variable. The cointegration test indicates a long-run cointegration equation among natural resources, transportation infrastructure, economic growth, and financial development. Natural resources have a negative impact on financial development, which means the resource curse hypothesis exists, while transportation infrastructure and economic growth play a positive role in enhancing financial development in China. Furthermore, the results of a wavelet coherence analysis show that transportation infrastructure, natural resources, and financial development are all vulnerable at distinct frequencies. The results of FMOLS and DOLS are also supported by wavelet coherence. Our results have significant policy recommendations, indicating that efficient use of natural resources is required to promote sustainable and sound financial development.

Exploring the heterogeneous impact of road infrastructure on rural residents’ income: Evidence from nationwide panel data in China

Countries have invested in transport infrastructure and public service in recent years to reduce rural poverty and income inequality. However, the effects of transport infrastructure on the residents with economic and educational disadvantages in rural areas are still under debate. In this paper, we investigate the impact of road infrastructure on the income of rural residents at the municipal level using data from the China Family Panel Survey (CFPS) from 2010 to 2018. By using the instrumental variable regression model, we found that rural residents' household incomes benefit from road infrastructure. Within income components, road infrastructure plays a role in improving rural residents’ wage and business income. Further comparing different rural resident groups, we found that rural residents with lower initial farming and business income benefit more from improved road infrastructure in terms of their farming and business income from 2010 to 2018. In addition, in poverty-stricken areas, rural residents with lower initial farming and business income benefit more from road infrastructure in improving their farming and business income. However, the household incomes of rural residents with low formal education improve less as a result of road infrastructure. Policymakers should thus consider combining transport infrastructure provision with other policy packages, such as education program or skill training, to target different groups of rural residents in China.

Effect of Transportation Infrastructure on Built-up Area Using Prediction of Land Use/Cover Change: Case Study of Yogyakarta International Airport, Indonesia

The development of transportation infrastructure increases the pressure on natural resources, one of which is the increase in the built-up area. The changes do not only happen during the construction of transportation infrastructure but also after its completion. Therefore, this study aims to identify and simulate land use/cover changes in Kulon Progo Regency, Indonesia, to predict the effect of the construction of Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA). A quantitative descriptive method was used with the main data of multitemporal Landsat remote sensing images. Furthermore, the integration of Cellular Automata and Artificial Neural Networks (CA-ANN) was applied to simulate land use/cover change predictions (2035). The results of image classification using the supervised maximum likelihood classification showed an overall accuracy of 85.33% and 86.67% for 2011, and 2015 with 2019 using Landsat 7 and 8 images, respectively. Meanwhile, there was an increase in paddy fields of 1,210.1 ha (2.11%) and built-up area by 2,708.6 ha (4.72%) during 2011 – 2019. Conversely, shrubs and dryland agriculture decreased by 1,594.1 ha (2.78%) and 2,174.1 ha (3.79%). The simulation results indicate that the development of transportation infrastructure further triggers the increase in built-up area, especially around the YIA. Therefore, policymakers and development implementers should adopt and implement appropriate and effective planning for sustainable land use.

The effect of transport infrastructure (road, rail, and air) investments on economic growth and environmental pollution and testing the validity of EKC in China, India, Japan, and Russia.

A key factor in social development and sustainable urban expansion is the establishment of sustainable and affordable transport systems. This study aims to investigate the impact of transport infrastructure investment on environmental degradation and economic growth and to test the validity of the EKC hypothesis in China, India, Russia, and Japan over the period 1995-2020. The results show that GDP has a significant positive effect, and GDP2 and GDP3 have significant adverse effects on environmental degradation, respectively. These results confirm the validity of the inverted U-shaped EKC hypothesis in selected emerging Asian economies. Rail infrastructure investment has significant adverse effects, while road infrastructure investment and aviation infrastructure investment have significant positive effects on environmental degradation. Likewise, the impact of investment in transport infrastructure system (roads, rail, and aviation) on economic growth is positive and statistically significant. Country-level estimates confirm the validity of the inverted U-shaped EKC hypothesis in China, India, and Russia, while the N-shaped EKC is only valid in Japan. Investments in rail infrastructure based on modern rail systems that run on electricity are believed to be less polluting in the transport mix, help create sustainable and safe transport systems, and reduce emissions at the urban and intercity levels in emerging Asian countries. In addition, the growing impact of free trade on environmental pollution should be strengthened to harmonize the strict enforcement of environmental conditions dominated by trade agreements.

Transportation infrastructure, economic agglomeration and non-linearities of green total factor productivity growth in China: Evidence from partially linear functional coefficient model

Previous studies have not clarified how transportation infrastructure will affect green total factor productivity. In this paper, we examine the impact of transportation infrastructure on green total factor productivity in Chinese cities with varying levels of economic agglomeration. We find that when the degree of economic agglomeration is relatively low, the effect of transportation infrastructure on green total factor productivity change is not obvious, but with a higher degree of agglomeration, this effect becomes evident. We thus recommend that the construction of transportation infrastructure may help the government achieve its goal of green and sustainable transformation, but the degree of economic agglomeration should be increased to beyond the critical level in order to make the impact of transportation infrastructure beneficial.

Transport infrastructure, CO2 emissions, mortality, and life expectancy in the Global South

This study examines the interplay between transport infrastructure, CO2 emissions, and health outcomes. The study focuses on economies in the Global South from 2006 to 2016 periods. To achieve the study's aims, CO2-induced health outcomes are generated, and the effects of transport infrastructure on CO2-induced life expectancy and mortality are assessed. The instrumental variable and system GMM estimates suggest that the quality of transport infrastructure in these economies has not improved the reduced life expectancy induced by CO2 emissions. A similar conclusion follows when mortality is analysed, such that transport infrastructural quality in these economies worsens the death rate caused by CO2 emissions. Further improvement in infrastructural facilities and a reduction in CO2 emissions will be necessary for achieving a good health outcome.

The effect of transport infrastructure, congestion and reliability on mental wellbeing: a systematic review of empirical studies

ABSTRACT There has been a growing interest in understanding the interdependencies between urbanisation and mental health. Although transportation in cities is complex and of foremost importance to support the mobility of goods and passengers, little is known about how it relates to individual psychological distress. This review aims to provide an up-to-date synthesis of research evidence about the influence of transport infrastructure and operational performance (congestion, delays and reliability) on mental health/wellbeing. It is structured around three main interacting concepts that determined the search/selection of articles: identification of the above-mentioned transport-related exposures; use of psychological and physiological validated instruments; and the outcome on mental health/wellbeing. Ultimately, 69 studies were identified involving an empirical quantitative focus that met the inclusion criteria. We summarise the instruments most reported in these studies and the findings linking transport indicators and psychological and physiological outcomes. Across the review, we identified evidence of the contribution of key transport infrastructure, congestion and delay indicators on negative affective states and psychophysiological distress. Regarding transport reliability, the scarce number of studies identified did not allow for drawing similar firm conclusions. We conclude by discussing some limitations and providing recommendations for future research and policy-making agendas.

Transport infrastructure and urban-rural income disparity: A municipal-level analysis in China

Although the effects of transport infrastructure on regional development have been widely discussed, the relationship between transport infrastructure and urban–rural income disparities has scarcely been examined. This study provides new evidence of those disparities by looking at 227 prefectural-level cities in China in 2016. We found that national, provincial and municipal roads played a positive role in narrowing the urban–rural income gap by facilitating rural labour mobility. The high coefficient of provincial and municipal roads indicates that they provide access to local and regional job markets for migrant farmers. The impact of roads is most remarkable in China's southwestern and middle regions, demonstrating that road infrastructure is more important for rural residents in these regions to increase their income. The least significant impact of road infrastructure was found in the northeast region, where road infrastructure is not the main restriction factor for its development. Policymakers should consider the impact of road infrastructure in different regions to reduce the urban–rural income gap.

Disentangling barrier effects of transport infrastructure: synthesising research for the practice of impact assessment

Transport infrastructure such as railways, motorways and arterial roads increases regional accessibility for motorised transport but simultaneously can create barriers in local street networks that can decrease accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists. Although several tools for an objective assessment of these barrier effects have been developed, their use in practice is limited; impact assessments are instead based on subjective descriptions. This article reviews the literature on barrier effects of the last 60 years and aims to offer guidance for the use of objective methods of assessment of barrier effects. The first contribution is a conceptual model for the barrier effects of transport infrastructure and their determinants. The second contribution is an overview of tools for the assessment of barrier effects. We conclude that a multi-disciplinary approach is required, supported by the conceptual model and the overview of assessment tools. Investments in transport infrastructure can then be based on broader decision support involving not only the benefits of increasing regional accessibility but also the cost of reducing local accessibility.

On the Road Without a Map: Why We Need an “Ethic of Road Ecology”

Over the past two decades, our knowledge of the ecological impacts of roads has increased rapidly. It is now clear that the environmental effects of transportation infrastructure are inextricable from transportation benefits to economic, social, and cultural values. Despite the necessity of optimizing these multiple values, road planners, scientists, and practitioners have no established methodology or pluralistic approach to address growing ethical complexities. We articulate five ethical issues that could be addressed by developing an ethic of road ecology in order to facilitate the identification, reasoning, and harmonization of ethical dimensions of road planning and development. This inquiry into road ecology can draw lessons from existing applied ethics, such as in ecological restoration and urban planning, to build a narrative that is informed by both science and ethics. We illustrate five ethical issues presented through case studies that elaborate on the motivations, responsibilities, and duties that should be considered in ethically and scientifically complicated road building decisions. To address these issues, we encourage the development of a code of ethics, dedicated intellectual forums, and practical guidance to assist road planners, and more broadly transportation practitioners, to resolve complex ethical quandaries systematically. We hope this perspective encourages conversation for a holistic yet pragmatic approach to this applied ethics problem, while also assisting responsible parties as they navigate difficult moral terrain.

Dynamic Intercorrelations between Transport/Traffic Infrastructures and Territorial Systems: From Economic Growth to Sustainable Development

The correlations between investments in transport infrastructure and territorial development continue to concern public authorities. They are responsible for optimising the allocation of financial resources, and they are interested in the correct short- and long-term estimations of investments in transport infrastructure’s consequences for development. The direct and indirect effects of transport infrastructure are present in the socio-economic assessment methodologies of projects. Despite the recorded progress, uncertainties remain in technical assessments, especially socio-economic ones, and they do not remove decision-makers’ concerns regarding the necessity and appropriateness of investments. Based on these aspects, this paper aimed to clarify the effects of new infrastructure on socio-economic development.

Effect of transportation infrastructure on forest plant diversity and soil properties in Lawachara National Park, Bangladesh

Transportation infrastructure has bought many blessings for human civilization, although its negative influences, especially on a forested landscape should be heeded with prime concerns. In this study, we studied, how railway track perforating through Lawachara National Park affecting the nearby vegetation alpha (α) and beta (β) diversity and composition and soil properties, and whether the effects are active until a certain distance into the forest interior. Total 32 plots in 8 transect lines perpendicular to the railway are laid with 4 plots at 10 m, 40 m, 70 m and 100 m distances. Tree and tree regeneration α and β-diversity and composition, and soil organic matter and pH were assessed at each of these plots. Our results showed that, soil organic matter and pH, as well as α-diversity indices were significantly (P < .05) higher in plots near the railway track than forest interior parts in case of both tree and tree regenerations. But the β-diversity did not vary significantly (P > .05) with distances. High amount of organic matter in outermost plots was maybe due to the decomposition of litterfall and debris where increased pH value was due to presence of high amount of calcareous substances and plant residue. As the α-diversity of plant decreased with increasing distance from the railway track and in most cases the value decreased until 70 m distance, indicated that the influence of the railway tracks maybe prominent up to 70 m. So, to minimize this effect of vegetation structure proper steps such as careful planning in road building, afforestation using the native species and evaluation of the necessity of infrastructure and possible alternatives to it should be assessed.

Effects of transportation infrastructure on fishes in the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains

Rivers worldwide are fragmented by transportation infrastructure that blocks the movements of aquatic organisms. To assess the effects of road culverts on stream fishes in the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains regions of Oklahoma, we surveyed 39 free-flowing sites, 29 sites upstream and 29 sites downstream of culverts. We observed differences in species richness and abundance between free-flowing sites, sites upstream of a culvert, and downstream sites. We also found that the degree to which a culvert affected richness and abundance depended on culvert type and length. Furthermore, the culverts in the poorest condition had the greatest effects on abundance and richness. Replacement of these poor condition culverts is likely a high priority for both conservation groups and infrastructure agencies. Our findings enable conservation practitioners to identify structures that may be high priorities for aquatic organism passage projects, including those that may benefit from cost-sharing or collaboration with infrastructure agencies.

Transport Infrastructure and CO &lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; Emissions in the OECD Over the Long Run

We examine the effect of transport infrastructure on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in OECD countries over a period of almost 150 years. To do so, we employ both parametric and non-parametric panel data techniques. With the parametric estimates, we find mixed evidence of a statistically significant positive relationship between transport infrastructure and CO2 emissions, which is dependent on the specific long-run estimator used. Our non-parametric estimates suggest that the common trend function for CO2 emissions is rising for most of the period and that there is a time-varying relationship between transport infrastructure and CO2 emissions. The computed time-varying coefficient function of transport infrastructure has been positive since 1940, and the observed effect is most pronounced between 1940 and 1960.

Impact of Weather Conditions and Built Environment on Public Bikesharing Trips in Beijing

As bicycling regains popularity around the world, the Beijing Public Bikesharing System, launched in 2012, enables users to access shared bicycles for short trips. After five years of operation, while the system is widely used, it faces the problems of bike unavailability and dock shortage at various stations due to the tidal characteristics of bicycle travel. It is necessary to investigate the influence of different weather conditions and nearby built station environments on bikesharing trips. Using historical trip data from 2016 concerning 543 stations in Beijing, log-linear regression models are developed to estimate the impact of daily weather and time events on bikesharing trips. Moreover, the effects of built environment variables, such as land use and transport infrastructure, are investigated both on workday and non-workday usage at the station level. The results indicate that temperature is not linearly associated with daily usage. Daily usage decreases according to rainfall, snowfall, wind speed and weekends/holidays. Light and heavy pollution have no significant influence on bikesharing demand; however, severe pollution has a negative influence on usage. The effect of transport infrastructure (subway stations, bus stops and bikeway length) is crucial in increasing bikesharing demand. The number of residential and shopping locations is generally associated with usage. Proximity to colleges does not show an obvious usage increase, which is different from the results obtained in other cities. Parks encourage more bikesharing usage on weekends/holidays than on workdays. The findings may help planners or managers to design and modify public bikesharing stations effectively, increasing usage while reducing rebalance costs.

Major roads have important negative effects on insectivorous bat activity

The development of transportation infrastructure has been identified as one of the main pressures on biodiversity. The effects of transport infrastructure are more documented for terrestrial mammals, birds and amphibians than for bats. To assess the impacts of roads on bat activity, we carried out full-night acoustic recordings of bat calls at 306 sampling points at different distances from a major road at three study sites in France. To assess the relationship between bat activity and the distance to the major road, we performed generalized linear mixed model analyses for thirteen different species or groups and additionally explored the non-linear effect with generalized additive mixed models. Our results showed that low-flying species are more affected than high-flying species. Indeed, we found a significant negative effect of major roads on bat activity for the ‘clutter-adapted’ species, Eptesicus serotinus, Myotis spp., Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Rhinolophus hipposideros. These results demonstrate that the road-effect zone of major roads extends up to five kilometres. Extrapolating those road-effects zones to the major roads in the European Union, we estimated that 35% of the European Union is potentially negatively impacted. Finally, it seems urgent to consider these road effects with the cumulative effects of other roads by improving habitat connectivity and foraging areas in land use policies. Additionally, to implement drastic conservation practices for species of conservation concern in environmental impact assessment studies, efficient mitigation and offset measures implemented should be sized proportionally to the disturbance caused.

The Effect of Transportation Infrastructure in Turkish Economy on Economic Growth

Altyapi yatirimlari, uzun donem ekonomi politikalarinin bir araci olarak kullanilabilmekte ve altyapi yatirimlari icerisinde yer alan ulasim altyapisinin gelistirilmesine duyulan ihtiyac ise gun gectikce artmaktadir. Bunun nedeni ulasim altyapisinin zaman tasarrufu ve erisim kolayligi gibi ulastirmaya yonelik faydalarinin yani sira ekonomik buyumeye olan katkisidir. Dunya ticaretinde yonlendirici olan ulkelerin ulasim altyapisi degerlendirildiginde karayolu aginin oldukca gelismis oldugu gorulmekte ve karayolu altyapisi ekonomik gelismenin belirleyicisi olabilmektedir. Turkiye’de de ulasim altyapisina yapilan yatirimlarin cogunlugunu karayolu olusturmaktadir. Bu calismada Turkiye’deki karayolu uzunluklarindan faydalanilarak ulasim altyapisi ve ekonomik buyume arasindaki uzun donemli iliski Cobb-Douglas uretim fonksiyonu yardimiyla incelenmistir. 1988-2015 donemi yillik veriler kullanilarak yapilan VAR analizine dayali Johansen esbutunlesme testiyle uzun donemde Turkiye’deki ulasim altyapisindaki degisimin ekonomik buyumeyi pozitif ve anlamli sekilde etkiledigi sonucuna ulasilmistir.

The effect of transport infrastructure on the location of economic activity: Railroads and post offices in the American West

This paper uses data on the locations of historical US Post Offices to study the effect of railroad construction between 1868 and 1889 on the geographical distribution of towns in the American West. I estimate the probability of survival and expected lifetime of a post office as flexible functions of the distance to the railroad. Existing post offices that were bypassed by the railroad at between 5 and 10 km were 20 to 50 percentage points less likely to remain in operation until 2010 than control post offices over 50 km from the railroad. Given the historically close correspondence between the location of post offices and the location of towns, these results provide evidence that the railroads generated an agglomeration shadow - towns that were “almost” connected to the railroad were more likely to decline than those that remained isolated. I show that the short distances over which the forces of agglomeration act in this setting mean that it is difficult to detect the agglomerative effects of railroad construction using alternative methodologies based on census population data.