Does Transport Infrastructure Inequality Matter for Economic Growth? Evidence from China

Anyu Chen, Yueran Li, Kunhui Ye, Tianyi Nie and Rui Liu
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Anyu Chen: School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Yueran Li: School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Kunhui Ye: School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Tianyi Nie: School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Rui Liu: Department of Construction and Real Estate, School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-21

Abstract: Transport infrastructure (TI) plays a crucial role in socioeconomic development. The increase of TI inequality, an all-pervading phenomenon in both developed and developing countries, has been an obstacle to sustainable economic growth. The relationship between TI inequality and economic growth has attracted considerable interest over the past three decades. However, the relationship remains obscure, and people find it impossible to utilize to develop economies. This study collected a panel of empirical data from 1982 to 2015 from China to calculate the Gini coefficient and conduct the Granger causality test. The data analysis results show that TI inequality is not always conducive to economic growth. A softening TI inequality helps address the issues of uneven economic growth across regions in the long term. The short-term effects of improving TI inequality at the national level are reflected in the network effect. In addition, the “social filters” facilitate the region to absorb the economic benefits brought by the improvement of TI inequality. These findings offer a way to address the increase of TI inequality and shed light on the ways to improve transport investment from the perspective of economic growth.

Keywords: transport infrastructure; inequality; economic growth; Gini coefficient; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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