Mutual Causality in Road Network Growth and Economic Development

Michael Iacono and David Levinson

No 112, Working Papers from University of Minnesota: Nexus Research Group

Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between the growth of road networks and regional development. We test for mutual causality between the growth of road networks (which are divided functionally into local roads and highways) and changes in county-level population and employment. We employ a panel data set containing observations of road mileage by type for all Minnesota counties over the period 1988 to 2007 to fit a model describing changes in road networks, population and employment. Results indicate that causality runs in both directions between population and local road networks, while no evidence of causality in either direction is found for networks and local employment. We interpret the findings as evidence of a weakening influence of road networks (and transportation more generally) on location, and suggest methods for refining the empirical approach described herein.

Keywords: network expansion; economic evaluation; regional growth; rural development; economic development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O18 R42 R48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-fdg, nep-geo, nep-net, nep-tre and nep-ure
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Published in Transport Policy 45 (2016), 209-217.

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http://hdl.handle.net/11299/180063 Second version, 2015 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Mutual causality in road network growth and economic development (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nex:wpaper:statepanel

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