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

Riccardo Crescenzi, Marco Di Cataldo and Andrés Rodríguez-Pose

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Transport infrastructure investment is a cornerstone of growth-promoting strategies. However, the link between infrastructure investment and economic performance remains unclear. 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 the regions of the European Union. The results unveil the influence of regional quality of government on the economic returns of transport infrastructure. In weak institutional contexts, investment in motorways – the preferred option by governments – yields significantly lower returns than the more humble secondary roads. Government institutions also affect the returns of transport maintenance investment.

Keywords: transport infrastructure; public capital investment; economic growth; institutions; government quality; regions; Europe; Seventh Framework Programme; Horizon 2020 Program; 639633-MASSIVE-ERC-2014-STG; 269868 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O4 R11 R40 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-03-17
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-geo, nep-tre and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (95)

Published in Journal of Regional Science, 17, March, 2016, 56(4), pp. 555-582. ISSN: 0022-4146

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http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/65716/ Open access version. (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 (2015)
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:ehl:lserod:65716

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