Transportation Costs and the Spatial Organization of Economic Activity

Stephen Redding and Matthew Turner

Chapter Chapter 20 in Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, 2015, vol. 5, pp 1339-1398 from Elsevier

Abstract: This chapter surveys the theoretical and empirical literature on the relationship between the spatial distribution of economic activity and transportation costs. We develop a multiregion model of economic geography that we use to understand the general equilibrium implications of transportation infrastructure improvements within and between locations for wages, population, trade, and industry composition. Guided by the predictions of this model, we review the empirical literature on the effects of transportation infrastructure improvements on economic development, paying particular attention to the use of exogenous sources of variation in the construction of transportation infrastructure. We examine evidence from different spatial scales, between and within cities. We outline a variety of areas for further research, including distinguishing reallocation from growth and dynamics.

Keywords: Highways; Market access; Railroads; Transportation; F15; R12; R40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (278)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Transportation Costs and the Spatial Organization of Economic Activity (2014)
Working Paper: Transportation Costs and the Spatial Organization of Economic Activity (2014)
Working Paper: Transportation costs and the spatial organization of economic activity (2014)
Working Paper: Transportation Costs and the Spatial Organization of Economic Activity (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:regchp:5-1339

DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-444-59531-7.00020-X

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