Road infrastructure in Europe and Central Asia: does network quality affect trade ?

Ben Shepherd and John Wilson

No 4104, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: The authors present a new database of minimum distance road routes connecting 138 cities in 27 countries across Europe and Central Asia. They use it to show that improved road network quality is robustly associated with higher intraregional trade flows. Gravity model simulations suggest that an ambitious but feasible road upgrade could increase trade by 50 percent over baseline, exceeding the expected gains from tariff reductions or trade facilitation programs of comparable scope. Cross-country spillovers due to overland transit are important: total intraregional trade couldbe increased by 30 percent by upgrading roads in just three countries-Albania, Hungary, and Romania.

Keywords: Transport Economics Policy&Planning; Free Trade; Common Carriers Industry; Transport and Trade Logistics; Trade Law (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006-12-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev and nep-int
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (29)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4104

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