International growth spillovers, geography and infrastructure

Mark Roberts and Uwe Deichmann

No 5153, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: There is significant academic evidence that growth in one country tends to have a positive impact on growth in neighboring countries. This paper contributes to this literature by assessing whether growth spillovers tend to vary significantly across world regions and by investigating the contribution of transport and communication infrastructure in promoting neighborhood effects. The study is global, but the main interest is on Sub-Saharan Africa. The authors define neighborhoods both in geographic terms and by membership in the same regional trade association. The analysis finds significant evidence for heterogeneity in growth spillovers, which are strong between OECD countries and essentially absent in Sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis further finds strong interaction between infrastructure and being a landlocked country. This suggests that growth spillovers from regional"success stories"in Sub-Saharan Africa and other lagging world regions will depend on first strengthening the channels through which such spillovers can spread -- most importantly infrastructure endowments.

Keywords: Achieving Shared Growth; Transport Economics Policy&Planning; Economic Growth; Economic Theory&Research; Country Strategy&Performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009-12-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-fdg and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Journal Article: International Growth Spillovers, Geography and Infrastructure (2011)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5153

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