Inter-modal Network Externalities and Transport Development: Evidence from Roads, Canals, and Ports during the English Industrial Revolution

Dan Bogart ()

No 70812, Working Papers from University of California-Irvine, Department of Economics

Abstract: How does the development of one transport mode influence the development of another? This paper uses time-series data to test whether inter-model network externalities influenced the development of road, canal, and port infrastructure in England from 1760 to 1830. The main finding is that road development had a positive effect on canal development. The results suggest that the option value of investing in a canal in the future diminished when nearby road improvements were initiated because there was less uncertainty about future profits from canal tolls. They also suggest a reinterpretation of road transport in the Industrial Revolution and point to the general importance of inter-modal network externalities.

Keywords: Inter-modal network externalities; British transport; Industrial Revolution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: R40 R50 N73 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo, nep-his, nep-net and nep-ure
Date: 2008-02
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Related works:
Journal Article: Inter-Modal Network Externalities and Transport Development: Evidence from Roads, Canals, and Ports During the English Industrial Revolution (2009)
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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:irv:wpaper:070812

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