Government quality and the economic returns of transport infrastructure investment in European regions

Riccardo Crescenzi, Marco Di Cataldo and Andrés Rodríguez-Pose

No 1535, Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) from Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography

Abstract: Transport infrastructure investment is a cornerstone of growth-promoting strategies. However, in the case of Europe the relevant literature is increasingly failing to find a clear link between infrastructure investment and economic performance. This may be a consequence of overlooking the role of government institutions. This paper assesses the connection between regional quality of government and the returns of different types of road infrastructure in EU regions during the period between 1995 and 2009. The results unveil a strong influence of regional quality of government on the economic returns of transport infrastructure. In weak institutional contexts, investments in motorways – the preferred option by local governments – yield significantly lower returns than the more humble but possibly more efficient secondary road. Government institutions also affect the returns of transport maintenance investment.

Keywords: Transport infrastructure; Public capital investment; Economic growth; Institutions; Government quality; Regions; Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: R11 R40 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-11, Revised 2015-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-geo, nep-tre and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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http://econ.geo.uu.nl/peeg/peeg1535.pdf Version November 2015 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: GOVERNMENT QUALITY AND THE ECONOMIC RETURNS OF TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT IN EUROPEAN REGIONS (2016)
Working Paper: Government quality and the economic returns of transport infrastructure investment in European regions (2016)
Working Paper: Government quality and the economic returns of transport infrastructure investment in European regions (2015)
Working Paper: Government quality and the economic returns of transport infrastructure investment in European regions (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:egu:wpaper:1535

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