Cost-benefit analysis of transport investments in distorted economies

Edward Calthrop, Bruno De Borger and Stef Proost

Working Papers from University of Antwerp, Faculty of Business and Economics

Abstract: This paper deals with costs-benefit analysis of investment in transport infrastructure. Its contribution is twofold. Firstly, we develop a general equilibrium model to explore the impact of a small budgetary-neutral investment in transport infrastructure in a second-best setting, where other markets in the economy are distorted by taxes or external costs. The model incorporates different transport modes that are used both for intermediate inputs (freight) and for final consumption (passenger travel). An intuitive operational expression for the net economic benefit of an investment is derived that depends on the way the investment is financed. This expression generalizes recent findings in the literature. Secondly, we illustrate the results numerically using a small example. Our findings show that both the specific financing instrument used and the labour market consequences may have large implications for the net benefits of transport investments. Significant errors may be made in limiting cost-benefit analysis to transport markets only.

Keywords: Cost-benefit analysis; Transport investments; Marginal cost of funds (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H23 H43 H54 R13 R42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 45 pages
Date: 2008-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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https://repository.uantwerpen.be/docman/irua/7bb02b/57c68425.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Cost-benefit analysis of transport investments in distorted economies (2010)
Working Paper: Cost-benefit analysis of transport investments in distorted economies (2008)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ant:wpaper:2008011

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