Transport Infrastructure Investment Research Articles

ECONOMIC EFFECT FROM CITY INFRASTRUCTURE POT (PASSENGER PUBLIC TRANSPORT) IN GERMANY

. Transport infrastructure is an important part of public capital and a major aspect of political and scientific discussions. In addition, investments in transport infrastructure have an impact not only on the region to which cash flows flow, but also on the supra-regional level due to the network characteristics of the infrastructure and its importance for connecting regions. Despite its obvious importance, investments in transport infrastructure are the main reason for underfunding, with an increasing number of stakeholders expressing their dissatisfaction with the current state of the network. A more detailed analysis distinguishing between different types of motorways and structures confirms these conclusions and highlights the importance of the Bundesstraßen network compared to the autobahn system. The estimated impact of bridge quality is quite ambiguous and requires further research to achieve a better understanding. This article analyzes the impact of the quantity and quality of transport infrastructure on regional economic production.

How much is accessibility worth? Utility-based accessibility to evaluate transport policies

There is now a long tradition of accessibility research, with an increasingly rich set of frameworks and methods from a distributional perspective. Despite such a positive outlook, many accessibility metrics deployed in research and practice do not consider (dis)utility, which may resonate more clearly with mainstream transport decision-making and planning. This paper seeks to contribute to debates about using utility-based measures as inputs for accessibility assessment of transport infrastructure investments in the Global South using discrete choice modeling and its potential as a bridging language between socially nuanced and economics-driven transport planning practices. This paper uses mixed revealed preferences and stated preferences data collected in Bogotá, Colombia. Then, it uses a logsum accessibility metric to estimate the differentiated impact of a set of infrastructure interventions on the accessibility of residents with different income levels and other socioeconomic conditions. Particularly, the logsum accessibility metric analyses future and structural additions to Bogotá public transport networks, reflecting their effect on the accessibility and consumer surplus in the next 20 years. The proposed approach captures the benefits derived from the transport infrastructure improvements, which has relevance for debates about transport policy and practice in this and similar urban contexts in the Global South. These accessibility gains could be assigned a monetary value to include in project cost-benefit assessments.

‘A land made fit for tourists’: Thomas Cook, tourism promotion, and colonial development in Iraq, 1920–1932

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the British travel firm Thomas Cook & Son's operations in Iraq, threading together the histories of antiquities-focused tourism and development from the country's establishment as a League of Nations Mandate in 1920 through its independence in 1932. It situates the firm's rhetoric within two principles undergirding mandate-era colonial development: development of the land, achieved through the modernisation of transportation infrastructure, and the development of the Iraqi people ‘along native lines’. Journalists, tourism promoters, politicians and travel writers lauded investments in Iraq's railways, automobile transportation and civil aviation infrastructure. They presented visions of Iraq's development as inextricable from its place within regional and global transportation networks. In the same period, a fascination with antiquities resulted in an outpouring of media about ancient Iraqi civilisations. Thomas Cook's cohesive publishing output – from guidebooks and travelogues to ephemeral written and visual sources, including pamphlets, magazines and advertisements – reveals how the company presented Iraq as both a country boasting the latest in modern transportation and hospitality facilities as well as an exotic land of perpetual antiquity. Thomas Cook not only replicated colonial discursive strategies, but also made them legible within the cultural (and seemingly ‘apolitical’) register of leisure travel.

Risk-based transportation infrastructure management: An integrated framework and case study in USVI against coastal flood and sea level rise

This paper develops a comprehensive analytical framework for evaluating transportation infrastructure investment strategies for asset management considering the impacts of extreme natural hazards and climate change. We integrate quantitative risk analysis (RA) and economic impact analysis (EIA) into a comprehensive assessment of the benefits and costs of infrastructure maintenance, rehabilitation and reconstruction (MR&R) strategies. Moving beyond this, the framework explicitly incorporates the bidirectional feedback/impact between asset management (in normal situations) and risk management (against extreme conditions). To illustrate the application, the framework is applied to a case study on the roadway transportation system of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), considering flood risk and the impact of future sea level rise. The case study demonstrates quantitative measures of the agency and user cost, risk, and other economic and environmental impacts under different MR&R, coastal flood and sea level rise scenarios. The framework supports high-level decision-making that transportation agencies face such as project prioritization, resilience planning, and capital planning. It can be generalized to analyze different types of infrastructure and natural hazards.

Links between renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, economic growth, and climate change, evidence from five emerging Asian countries.

One of the greatest challenges facing humanity in the current millennium is the need to mitigate climate change, and one of the most viable options to overcome this challenge is to invest in renewable energy. The study dynamically examines the links between renewable energy consumption, non-renewable energy consumption, climate change, and economic growth in five emerging Asian countries during the period 1975-2020. Variables selected in the model have long-term cointegration, as explored by the Pedroni cointegration test and the Westerlund cointegration test. The long-term estimated parameters of the augmented mean group (AMG) method show that renewable energy consumption significantly reduces climate change, while non-renewable energy consumption significantly promotes climate change. The results also show that GDP, investment in transport infrastructure, and urbanization can significantly contribute to climate change in selected emerging Asian countries. Moreover, the results validate the inverted U-shaped EKC hypothesis for emerging Asian economies. Country-specific analysis results using AMG estimates shows that renewable energy consumption reduces climate change in selected emerging Asian countries. Non-renewable energy consumption and investment in transport infrastructure have had significant progressive impacts on climate change in all countries. Urbanization contributes significantly to climate change, with the exception of Japan, which does not have any significant impact on climate change. GDP contributes significantly to climate change in all countries; however, GDP2 has significant adverse effects on climate change in India, China, Japan, and Korea, validating the inverted U-shaped EKC assumption for all countries except Bangladesh. Moreover, the Dumitrescu and Hurlin causality test confirmed a pairwise causal relationship between non-renewable energy consumption and GDP, supporting the feedback hypothesis. The results suggest that the best option for climate change mitigation in selected emerging Asian countries is to transition from non-renewable to renewable energy sources.

Estimating Inter-Regional Freight Demand in China Based on the Input–Output Model

The inter-regional freight volume is a crucial factor for transportation infrastructure planning and investment decision-making. However, existing studies on freight volume estimation have mainly focused on the total freight volume within a specific region, without taking freight flow into consideration. In this research, a gravity model was employed to estimate the inter-regional trade coefficient matrix based on the input–output tables of the 31 provinces in China in 2017. The inter-regional freight volume was then determined by converting the value flow into freight flow. To determine the model parameters, we used information from 2017 and subsequently validated the results using dates from 2012 to 2020. We also studied the impact of industrial structure change on freight volume by simulating dates from the aforementioned model in 2017. The results indicated that the model can effectively simulate inter-regional freight volume while taking into account the influence of industrial restructuring.

Urban Mobility: A Review of Challenges and Innovations for Sustainable Transportation in Brazil

Objective: The aim of this work is to review the literature and analyze trends and innovations in public transportation, as well as discuss the importance and challenges of urban mobility in the Brazilian context. Theoretical framework: Urban mobility is relevant due to the growth of cities and the need for sustainable transportation. Quality of life and economic development depend on safe and efficient transportation. Mobility also reduces social inequality by allowing access to services and opportunities for different social classes. Inclusive public policies and accessible transportation are crucial to improve people's quality of life. Method: The methodology adopted in this study was based on a literature review conducted in three distinct phases, covering the planning of the review, the effective execution of it, and the communication and presentation of the results obtained from the research. Results and conclusion: The review identified that the current scenario of urban mobility in Brazil is marked by a lack of adequate infrastructure for public transportation, cycling, and pedestrian routes, with an increase in the number of private vehicles on the streets and inequality in access to public transportation. To overcome these limitations, integrated planning, investments in quality public transportation, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, and a cultural change in relation to urban mobility are necessary. Technological innovations, such as vehicle electrification, digitalization of transportation services, and autonomous car systems, are essential to solve the challenges of urban mobility. Research implications: In the future, integration of transportation forms and intermodal networks is expected to facilitate mobility. Advanced technologies, such as autonomous vehicles, can reduce costs and increase efficiency. Investments in infrastructure, such as cycling routes, charging stations, and renewal of public transportation, are necessary. Public policies that encourage the adoption of electric vehicles and shared mobility, such as tax and tariff reductions, can disseminate technologies. Originality/value: It is recommended to analyze the economic and social impacts of the popularization of electric vehicles in Brazil, including financial viability and charging infrastructure. It is important to research advanced technologies, such as autonomous vehicles, to improve the efficiency and safety of public transportation, as well as to examine regulatory and implementation challenges.

Assessing the Regional Economic Ripple Effect of Flood Disasters Based on a Spatial Computable General Equilibrium Model Considering Traffic Disruptions

With growing regional economic integration, transportation systems have become critical to regional development and economic vitality but vulnerable to disasters. However, the regional economic ripple effect of a disaster is difficult to quantify accurately, especially considering the cumulated influence of traffic disruptions. This study explored integrating transportation system analysis with economic modeling to capture the regional economic ripple effect. A state-of-the-art spatial computable general equilibrium model is leveraged to simulate the operation of the economic system, and the marginal rate of transport cost is introduced to reflect traffic network damage post-disaster. The model is applied to the 50-year return period flood in 2020 in Hubei Province, China. The results show the following. First, when traffic disruption costs are considered, the total output loss of non-affected areas is 1.81 times than before, and non-negligible losses reach relatively remote zones of the country, such as the Northwest Comprehensive Economic Zone (36% of total ripple effects). Second, traffic disruptions have a significant hindering effect on regional trade activities, especially in the regional intermediate input—about three times more than before. The industries most sensitive to traffic disruptions were transportation, storage, and postal service (5 times), and processing and assembly manufacturing (4.4 times). Third, the longer the distance, the stronger traffic disruptions’ impact on interregional intermediate inputs. Thus, increasing investment in transportation infrastructure significantly contributes to mitigating disaster ripple effects and accelerating the process of industrial recovery in affected areas.

The Multimodal Accessibility Target (MAT)

If an infrastructure intervention, such as the conversion of a car lane into a dedicated bus lane, decreases automobile accessibility but increases transit accessibility, what is the overall effect on accessibility? To date, no methods have been proposed to evaluate this question. Accessibility research in the transportation and land-use literature has been dominated by unimodal and comparative approaches to analyzing accessibility. Little attention has been paid to quantifying multimodal accessibility or to the interactions between modes, and how these might affect overall accessibility. Moreover, the use of targets for accessibility in planning has been largely ignored. Particularly important to the evaluation of transportation planning outcomes is accessibility to employment, as this is a key element and predictor of urban economic prosperity. This study, building on the work of Alain Bertaud, proposed the multimodal accessibility target or MAT. The MAT provides a more accurate picture of overall (across mode) accessibility to jobs in a city, and can be used to evaluate transportation infrastructure investments. It also provides a target for accessibility that is an easily interpretable indicator that can serve as a goal in accessibility-based transportation planning. A case study of the proposed implementation of a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Montreal, Canada was used as an empirical example of the use of the MAT. In the case study, predicted multimodal accessibility to employment in the study area (and thereby the MAT) was found to increase with BRT compared with the base case scenario.

Trade Benefits of Transport Network Expansion Policy in Türkiye

Over the past two decades, Türkiye has undertaken considerable investment in transport infrastructure to build a well-developed transport network and to get integrated into global supply chains. This study aims to evaluate long-term trade expansion benefits of transport network investment in Türkiye to derive recommendations for transport and industrial policy. For this purpose, gravity models of trade are estimated for exports and imports with infrastructure investments in various transport modes as the main explanatory variables; as well as other independent variables involving determinants of bilateral trade flow, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development. In addition, control variables for Türkiye and for partner countries are involved in the models to obtain robust results. A main inference from the analysis entails that transport infrastructure investment acts as a driver for import growth rather than export expansion. As another important conclusion, transport infrastructure investment should be carried out with all transport types considered, based on a long-term transport policy scheme with special attention on road and rail infrastructure. Moreover, transport modes should be integrated to enhance network and connectivity of the overall logistics system. As a final remark, a widespread practice of multimodal and intermodal transportation can be achieved by a holistic integration policy of transport modes.

Traffic Fatalities and Urban Infrastructure: A Spatial Variability Study Using Geographically Weighted Poisson Regression Applied in Cali (Colombia)

The mobility plan and the road infrastructure works implemented, together with the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) connected bus system in its first two phases, generated optimistic expectations about the reduction of lethal crashes in the city. This research studies the relationship between investments in transportation infrastructure in the city and the distribution of traffic fatalities. Although it is not strictly speaking an impact assessment, the approach we propose performs geostatistical contrasts between intervened and non-intervened areas, using a geographically weighted model that attempts to model the spatial variability of the factors associated with the intra-urban road traffic crash rate, controlling for infrastructure interventions and some proxy indicators of urban structure. The findings reveal that fatalities decreased in areas both with and without intervention. Despite the expectation of reducing fatal injuries, the differential effects of the interventions were relatively small. The risk of road traffic crashes was even increased in critical points of the city with recurrent lethal crashes. The effects of road interventions on fatal road traffic crashes in Cali did not correspond to the high social and economic costs involved in the BRT system and the work plan.

Transport Infrastructure Investments as a Factor of Economic Growth of European Union Countries

Abstract Territorial cohesion and improved accessibility are among the main objectives of the European Union (EU) Cohesion policy. Although there is a wealth of literature on the impact of investment in transport infrastructure on overall accessibility levels, only a few studies have tried to evaluate the possible link between transport infrastructure investment (TII) and economic growth in the EU. Our research aims to evaluate the impact of TII on economic growth in the EU. The methodology is based on nonlinear neoclassical specification, which includes a multiplicative term to evaluate if the absence of corruption mediates the effect of TII on growth. Our unbalanced panel data covers 27 EU countries (Cyprus is excluded due to missing data and the United Kingdom is a part of the sample) from 2000 through 2019. Our research confirms a positive and statistically significant impact of TII on economic growth but with a diminishing return. Estimating the absence of corruption as a possible moderator of the effect that TII has on growth shows that control of corruption plays a significant role in the TII growth nexus. We find that in countries with a low level of control of corruption, TII has a statistically significant negative effect on growth.

EKC hypothesis testing and environmental impacts of transportation infrastructure investments in China, Turkey, India, and Japan.

A key strategy for social development and sustainable urban expansion is building sustainable and affordable transport systems. In this study, we aim to test the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis and reveal the impact of infrastructure investment in transportation systems in China, Turkey, India, and Japan over the period 1995-2020 on environmental degradation. According to dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) method analysis, per capita GDP and per capita GDP3 have a significant positive impact on per capita CO2 emission, while per capita GDP2 has a significant adverse impact on per capita CO2 emission. These results confirm the validity of the N-shaped EKC assumption, while inconsistent with the results of the FMOLS technique, showing that per capita GDP is significantly positive, while per capita GDP2 and per capita GDP3 have a significant negative impact on per capita carbon emissions. Moreover, as clarified by the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and DOLS methods, road infrastructure investment (RO), aviation infrastructure investment, trade openness, and foreign direct investment (FDI) have significant positive effects, while railway infrastructure investment (RA) has a significant negative effect on per capita carbon emission. Country-level estimates of per capita carbon emission-based DOLS strategies in the model show that only China and Japan have N-shaped EKC hypothesis. Road infrastructure investment, aviation infrastructure investment, and trade openness have significant positive effects, while railway infrastructure investment has a significant negative effect on per capita CO2 emission in selected central and east Asian countries. The latest electrified rail systems are well thought out and less polluting, so the contribution of rail infrastructure investment to the transport mix can support sustainable and safe transport systems at city center and intercity levels and reduce environmental pollution in central and east Asian countries. Moreover, the implementation of the basic environmental settings of trade agreements should be strengthened to condense the growing impact of free trade on environmental pollution.

A global assessment of national road network vulnerability

Every country relies on a well-functioning road system. However, we do not have a clear understanding yet of the vulnerability of each of these road networks to different forms of disruption. In this study, we aim to better understand how road networks are affected by different disruptive events, to identify hotspots of road network vulnerabilities, and to better target where and what type of future investments can be made to develop more resilient networks. To do so, we developed a fully open-source modelling framework to expose over 200 country road systems across the world to random, local, and targeted disruption schemes. For each country, we assessed the impact of such disruptions on intra-country travel activities and regional accessibility. The results highlight the vulnerability of road systems in mountainous and small-island countries owing to the limited availability of alternative routes. Additionally, we find that, on average, low-income countries experience a collapse of road-system services with much fewer disruptions, relative to high-income countries, due to the lack of redundancy in their systems. While the value of goods and services disrupted may be higher in wealthier countries, the results highlight that from an equity perspective, transport infrastructure investments are more desired in low-income country networks.

Multi-objective Optimization in a “Specified Driver’s Origin and Destination” Ridesharing System

<div>Ridesharing is a shared vehicle service with the potential to meet the growing travel demand and shortage in transportation infrastructure capacity. Ridesharing services reduce the number of vehicles and reduce traffic congestion and emissions while providing mobility services to the same number of people with no additional transportation infrastructure investment. One of the significant challenges in implementing ridesharing services is matching drivers and riders. Conflicts between matching objectives in satisfying the interests of diverse stakeholders influence ridesharing efficiency in a transportation system. This study investigates the conflicts between two ridesharing matching objectives (i.e., minimization of system-wide trip time [TT] and minimization of system-wide vehicle miles traveled [VMT]) by applying a multi-objective optimization technique. The results indicate that an acceptable performance of a ridesharing system in terms of TT and VMT can be achieved by optimizing a ridesharing system for conflicting objectives. A trade-off analysis was performed to evaluate the compromise needed between two conflicting objectives in satisfying diverse stakeholders’ interest in a ridesharing system.</div>

PRIORITIES FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF STATE INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES AND INVESTMENT POLICY IN UZBEKISTAN

This article examines the priorities of financial support for state investment activities and investment policy in Uzbekistan. The governments focus on infrastructure development has been particularly effective in improving the countrys economic performance, with significant investments in transportation, energy, and urban infrastructure. The agricultural sector also plays a vital role in the countrys economy, accounting for approximately 27% of the countrys GDP in 2020. The government has implemented policies to support the sector, including the introduction of modern agricultural technologies and the establishment of agro-industrial parks. The countrys education system has also improved significantly, resulting in a higher literacy rate. Tourism is a growing industry in Uzbekistan, with the governments efforts to promote the countrys rich cultural heritage and historical sites. Continued efforts to attract foreign investment and promote economic growth will be essential in achieving the governments goals of becoming a middle-income country by 2030. KEYWORDS: Uzbekistan, investment policy, infrastructure development, agriculture, education, tourism, economic growth, foreign investment, agro-industrial parks.

The ripple effects of large‐scale transport infrastructure investment

AbstractWe analyze the general equilibrium effects of an asymmetric decrease in transport costs, combining a large‐scale spatial dynamic general equilibrium model for 267 European NUTS‐2 regions with a detailed transport model at the level of individual road segments. As a case study, we consider the impact of the road infrastructure investments in Central and Eastern Europe of the European Cohesion Policy. Our analysis suggests that the decrease in transportation costs benefits the targeted regions via substantial increases in gross domestic product (GDP) and welfare compared to the baseline, and a small increase in population. The geographic information embedded in the transport model leads to relatively large predicted benefits in peripheral countries such as Greece and Finland, which hardly receive funds, but whose trade links cross Central and Eastern Europe, generating profit from the investments there. The richer, Western European nontargeted regions also enjoy a higher GDP after the investment in the East, but these effects are smaller. Thus, the policy reduces interregional disparities. There are rippled patterns in the predicted policy spillovers. In nontargeted countries, regions trading more intensely with regions where the investment is taking place on average benefit more compared to other regions within the same country, but also compared to neighboring regions across an international border. We uncover that regions importing goods from Central and Eastern Europe enjoy the largest spillovers. These regions become more competitive and expand exports, to the detriment of other regions in the same country.

Public Expenditure on Transportation Infrastructure and Growth: Evidence from Nepal

The speedy growth in public investment in various sectors was assumed after decades of conflict and an unstable political situation. With the declaration of the Federal Republic, Nepal is going to embark on accelerated economic growth. This has somewhat caused concerns among policymakers of its implication for economic growth. And the government investment in transportation infrastructure is one of the core strategies, called the ‘infrastructure of infrastructures’. The main aim of this study is, therefore, to explain the relationship between economic growth and public expenditure in the transportation sector in Nepal. Primarily, this study has focused on the distinction of expenditures in the five-year development plans in three systems (Panchayat, Democratic, and Republic). This study used time series data collected between 1975 and 2016. The statistical and econometric tools have been used for the study. The result shows that the trend of government investment on public expenditure has increased in the Republic system. This study reveals that the variables are stationary on the first difference. The obtained regression model is satisfactory by diagnostic tests (errors are normally distributed, no serial correlation and homoscedastic). The data explain the positive and significant influence of Transportation Capital Expenditure on Gross Domestic Product, and, hence, it is contributing to economic growth. Furthermore, the results show short-run unidirectional causation from Transportation Capital Expenditure to Gross Domestic Product.

Spatial Economic Impacts of the TEN-T Network Extension in the Adriatic and Ionian Region

Investments in transportation infrastructure have been identified as one of the main factors to promote territorial economic growth. However, appraisal methods currently used in the planning practice do not consider spatial economic distributional effects, ignoring who within a given region would receive greater economic benefits from an investment than others (and eventually who might receive worse). In this paper, a modelling framework is proposed to assess the spatial economic impacts of transportation infrastructure investments; the method combines spatial regressions with transportation accessibility analysis, assuming Gross Domestic Product per Capita variation as a proxy of the economic growth. The application to the case study is related to the Adriatic and Ionian region, which includes both some EU (Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and Greece) and non-EU countries (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, and Kosovo) and is characterized by huge disparities in terms of infrastructural assets. The models allow us to both statistically prove the importance of spatial modelling specifications and to forecast economic impacts that would be generated by ongoing infrastructure investment plans for the reconstruction of the road and railway networks in the region; this highlighted where current economic disparities tend to be bridged up, i.e., mainly along the foreseen extensions of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) corridors, and where not.

The Spatial Spillover Effect and Function Routes of Transport Infrastructure Investment on Economic Growth: Evidence from Panel Data of OECD Members and Partners

Transport infrastructure connectivity is a spatial basis for economic development and the spillover and feedback effects of transport infrastructure investment (TII) have become an impetus for economic growth (EG). However, existing research does not consider the spatial effects of TII on the gross EG and the multiple effects of TII on EG structures. To explore the spatial relationships and the functional routes between TII and EG, the spatial Durbin model (SDM) was used to empirically analyze the spatial spillover effect of TII on EG from geographical and economic perspectives based on panel data from 2007 to 2019 of 35 members and partners of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD+). On this basis, a structural equation model (SEM) was established to reveal the multiple mediating effects of TII on EG. Results show that (1) the SDM–SEM hybrid method can model the spatial spillover effect and function routes of TII on EG based on theoretical analysis and empirical research; (2) according to empirical analysis of the SDM model, the spatial spillover effect in high-income OECD+ countries shows a positive effect under the economic distance, while that in the upper-middle-income countries has a negative effect; (3) an empirical analysis of the function route model implies that TII in high-income OECD+ countries exerts multiple mediating effects and it mainly affects EG indirectly by means including industrial structure (IS), and the rate of contribution of the key function route FR3 is 67.25%. The following suggestions are proposed: (1) it is necessary to enhance the intensity of effective investment in transport infrastructure, focus on weak links of transport infrastructure, and pay attention to investment in burgeoning fields of the OECD+ countries; (2) differentiated TII strategies are required to be formulated according to development of OECD+ countries with different income levels; (3) it is necessary to give full play to the spatial spillover effect and multiple mediating effects of TII on EG and the TII structure should be optimized, so as to improve the economic benefits of TII.