Profiting from Public Works: Financial Returns to Infrastructure and Investment Strategies during Britain's Industrial Revolution

Dan Bogart

No 121304, Working Papers from University of California-Irvine, Department of Economics

Abstract: The infrastructure sector has the potential to generate wide differences in profits and economic outcomes. This paper examines financial returns and investment strategies for Britain’s turnpike roads in the early nineteenth century. There are three main findings. First, rates of return on capital invested and returns to bondholders were similar to competitive sectors. Second, there was significant variation in returns across trusts. Third, there is evidence that turnpike investors were driven by financial motives, although economic motives appear to be important in some cases. The findings have implications regarding the connection between infrastructure and Britain’s industrialization.

Keywords: Monopoly; Regulation; Turnpike roads; Infrastructure; Britain; Industrial Revolution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K23 N43 N73 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 49 pages
Date: 2012-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his, nep-hme, nep-law, nep-tre and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:irv:wpaper:121304

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