IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/trapol/v60y2017icp24-33.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Relative improvements in road mobility as compared to improvements in road accessibility and economic growth: A cross-country analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Ng, Choy Peng
  • Law, Teik Hua
  • Wong, Shaw Voon
  • Kulanthayan, S.

Abstract

Previous studies indicated that an increase in road length had a positive and statistically significant impact on economic growth. However, the demand for and development of highly mobile or highly accessible roads likely varies according to the level of economic development, and this might have a significant influence on economic growth. The objectives of the present study were twofold: 1) to evaluate how road infrastructure growth facilitates export-led growth processes and 2) to determine the investment level needed for different road types to facilitate economic and commercial activities at different developmental levels. To shed light on these issues, fixed-effects linear regression analysis was conducted using time-series cross-sectional data on the relative improvement in road mobility as compared to improvement in road accessibility (MPA) and economic growth for 60 countries over the period 1980–2010. The key finding of this study was that in countries with a medium and high level of development, improvements in road mobility facilitated export-led growth. This indicates that policies to promote export should be implemented in conjunction with high-mobility road network expansion to enhance economic growth, particularly in countries with a medium level of development, which generally suffer from lower levels of high-mobility road network development. Such expansion in road mobility is necessary to fulfill demands for long-distance travel and enable the transportation of goods and services across regions, thereby facilitating productivity and trade. On the other hand, in countries with a low level of development, more investment is required to build roads with higher accessibility. Such roads are required to facilitate local business and trade activities. This type of road development is necessary to achieve sustainable economic growth in these countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Ng, Choy Peng & Law, Teik Hua & Wong, Shaw Voon & Kulanthayan, S., 2017. "Relative improvements in road mobility as compared to improvements in road accessibility and economic growth: A cross-country analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 24-33.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:60:y:2017:i:c:p:24-33
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2017.08.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X17301580
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tranpol.2017.08.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Caselli, Francesco, 2005. "Accounting for Cross-Country Income Differences," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 9, pages 679-741, Elsevier.
    2. Charles R. Hulten, 1996. "Infrastructure Capital and Economic Growth: How Well You Use It May Be More Important Than How Much You Have," NBER Working Papers 5847, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Aschauer, David Alan, 2000. "Public Capital and Economic Growth: Issues of Quantity, Finance, and Efficiency," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(2), pages 391-406, January.
    4. Bronwyn H. Hall & Clint Cumminq & Elizabeth S. Laderman & Joy Mundy, 1988. "The R&D Master File Documentation," NBER Technical Working Papers 0072, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Robert M. Solow, 1956. "A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 70(1), pages 65-94.
    6. Per-Ola Maneschiöld, 2008. "A Note on the Export-Led Growth Hypothesis: A Time Series Approach," Latin American Journal of Economics-formerly Cuadernos de Economía, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile., vol. 45(132), pages 293-302.
    7. Balassa, Bela, 1978. "Exports and economic growth : Further evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 181-189, June.
    8. Moomaw, Ronald L. & Shatter, Ali M., 1996. "Urbanization and Economic Development: A Bias toward Large Cities?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 13-37, July.
    9. Bertinelli, Luisito & Black, Duncan, 2004. "Urbanization and growth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 80-96, July.
    10. K. A. Al Mamun & H. K. Nath, 2005. "Export-led growth in Bangladesh: a time series analysis," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(6), pages 361-364.
    11. Piyapong Jiwattanakulpaisarn & Robert B. Noland & Daniel J. Graham & John W. Polak, 2009. "Highway Infrastructure Investment And County Employment Growth: A Dynamic Panel Regression Analysis," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(2), pages 263-286, May.
    12. Robert J. Barro, 1991. "Economic Growth in a Cross Section of Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 407-443.
    13. Cadot, Olivier & Roller, Lars-Hendrik & Stephan, Andreas, 2006. "Contribution to productivity or pork barrel? The two faces of infrastructure investment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(6-7), pages 1133-1153, August.
    14. Eric A. Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2008. "The Role of Cognitive Skills in Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(3), pages 607-668, September.
    15. Jimenez, Gonzalo Hernandez & Razmi, Arslan, 2013. "Can Asia sustain an export-led growth strategy in the aftermath of the global crisis? Exploring a neglected aspect," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 45-61.
    16. María Jesús Herrerias & Vicente Orts, 2010. "Is the Export-led Growth Hypothesis Enough to Account for China's Growth?," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 18(s1), pages 34-51.
    17. Krugman, Paul, 1991. "Increasing Returns and Economic Geography," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 483-499, June.
    18. World Bank, 2015. "World Development Indicators 2015," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 21634.
    19. Juan Blyde, 2013. "Paving the Road to Export: Assessing the Trade Impact of Road Quality," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 663-681, December.
    20. Jérôme Vandenbussche & Philippe Aghion & Costas Meghir, 2006. "Growth, distance to frontier and composition of human capital," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 97-127, June.
    21. Doucouliagos, Chris & Ulubasoglu, Mehmet Ali, 2006. "Economic freedom and economic growth: Does specification make a difference?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 60-81, March.
    22. Milton Barossi-Filho & Ricardo Gonçalves Silva & Eliezer Martins Diniz, 2005. "The empirics of the Solow growth model: Long-term evidence," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 8, pages 31-51, May.
    23. Peter Pedroni & David Canning, 2004. "The Effect of Infrastructure on Long Run Economic Growth," Department of Economics Working Papers 2004-04, Department of Economics, Williams College.
    24. Banerjee, Abhijit & Duflo, Esther & Qian, Nancy, 2020. "On the road: Access to transportation infrastructure and economic growth in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    25. Rosenthal, Stuart S. & Strange, William C., 2004. "Evidence on the nature and sources of agglomeration economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 49, pages 2119-2171, Elsevier.
    26. Benhabib, Jess & Spiegel, Mark M., 2005. "Human Capital and Technology Diffusion," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 13, pages 935-966, Elsevier.
    27. Charles R. Hulten & Esra Bennathan & Sylaja Srinivasan, 2006. "Infrastructure, Externalities, and Economic Development: A Study of the Indian Manufacturing Industry," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 20(2), pages 291-308.
    28. Canning, David & Bennathan, Esra, 2000. "The social rate of return on infrastructure investments," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2390, The World Bank.
    29. Griliches, Zvi, 1980. "R & D and the Productivity Slowdown," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(2), pages 343-348, May.
    30. Bernard, Andrew B. & Bradford Jensen, J., 1999. "Exceptional exporter performance: cause, effect, or both?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 1-25, February.
    31. Boriss Siliverstovs & Dierk Herzer, 2007. "Manufacturing exports, mining exports and growth: cointegration and causality analysis for Chile (1960-2001)," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(2), pages 153-167.
    32. Francesco Caselli & James Feyrer, 2007. "The Marginal Product of Capital," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(2), pages 535-568.
    33. Duranton, Gilles & Puga, Diego, 2004. "Micro-foundations of urban agglomeration economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 48, pages 2063-2117, Elsevier.
    34. Stefan Dercon & Daniel O. Gilligan & John Hoddinott & Tassew Woldehanna, 2009. "The Impact of Agricultural Extension and Roads on Poverty and Consumption Growth in Fifteen Ethiopian Villages," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1007-1021.
    35. Pradhan, Rudra P. & Bagchi, Tapan P., 2013. "Effect of transportation infrastructure on economic growth in India: The VECM approach," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 139-148.
    36. Ben S. Bernanke & Refet S. Gürkaynak, 2002. "Is Growth Exogenous? Taking Mankiw, Romer, and Weil Seriously," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2001, Volume 16, pages 11-72, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    37. Tyler, William G., 1981. "Growth and export expansion in developing countries : Some empirical evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 121-130, August.
    38. Piyapong Jiwattanakulpaisarn & Robert B. Noland & Daniel J. Graham & John W. Polak, 2009. "Highway infrastructure and state‐level employment: A causal spatial analysis," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 88(1), pages 133-159, March.
    39. Juan Blyde, 2013. "Paving the Road to Export: Assessing the Trade Impact of Road Quality," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 663-681, December.
    40. De Loecker, Jan, 2007. "Do exports generate higher productivity? Evidence from Slovenia," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 69-98, September.
    41. Robert E. Hall & Charles I. Jones, 1999. "Why do Some Countries Produce So Much More Output Per Worker than Others?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(1), pages 83-116.
    42. N. Gregory Mankiw & David Romer & David N. Weil, 1992. "A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(2), pages 407-437.
    43. Brülhart, Marius & Sbergami, Federica, 2009. "Agglomeration and growth: Cross-country evidence," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 48-63, January.
    44. Dodaro, Santo, 1991. "Comparative advantage, trade and growth: Export-Led growth revisited," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 19(9), pages 1153-1165, September.
    45. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1988. "On the mechanics of economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 3-42, July.
    46. Fan, Shenggen & Chan-Kang, Connie, 2008. "Regional road development, rural and urban poverty: Evidence from China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 305-314, September.
    47. Rode, Philipp & Floater, Graham & Thomopoulos, Nikolas & Docherty, James & Schwinger, Peter & Mahendra, Anjali & Fang, Wanli, 2014. "Accessibility in cities: transport and urban form," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 60477, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    48. Fan, Shenggen & Zhang, Linxiu & Zhang, Xiaobo, 2002. "Growth, inequality, and poverty in rural China: the role of public investments," Research reports 125, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    49. John G. Fernald, 1999. "Roads to Prosperity? Assessing the Link between Public Capital and Productivity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(3), pages 619-638, June.
    50. Liu, Yaobin, 2009. "Exploring the relationship between urbanization and energy consumption in China using ARDL (autoregressive distributed lag) and FDM (factor decomposition model)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(11), pages 1846-1854.
    51. Binswanger, Hans & Yang, Maw-Cheng & Bowers, Alan & Mundlak, Yair, 1987. "On the determinants of cross-country aggregate agricultural supply," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1-2), pages 111-131.
    52. Keeler, Theodore E. & Ying, John S., 1988. "Measuring the benefits of a large public investment : The case of the U.S. Federal-aid highway system," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 69-85, June.
    53. A. A. Bevan & J. Danbolt, 2004. "Testing for inconsistencies in the estimation of UK capital structure determinants," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 55-66.
    54. Konishi, Hideo, 2000. "Formation of Hub Cities: Transportation Cost Advantage and Population Agglomeration," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 1-28, July.
    55. Gunasekera, Kumudu & Anderson, William & Lakshmanan, T.R., 2008. "Highway-Induced Development: Evidence from Sri Lanka," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 2371-2389, November.
    56. Robert Z. Lawrence & David E. Weinstein, 1999. "Trade and Growth: Import-Led or Export-Led? Evidence From Japan and Korea," NBER Working Papers 7264, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    57. Rajdeep Grewal & Joseph A. Cote & Hans Baumgartner, 2004. "Multicollinearity and Measurement Error in Structural Equation Models: Implications for Theory Testing," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(4), pages 519-529, June.
    58. Esfahani, Hadi Salehi, 1991. "Exports, imports, and economic growth in semi-industrialized countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 93-116, January.
    59. Aw, Bee Yan & Chung, Sukkyun & Roberts, Mark J, 2000. "Productivity and Turnover in the Export Market: Micro-level Evidence from the Republic of Korea and Taiwan (China)," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 14(1), pages 65-90, January.
    60. Queiroz, Cesar & Gautam, Surhid, 1992. "Road infrastructure and economic development : some diagnostic indicators," Policy Research Working Paper Series 921, The World Bank.
    61. Romer, Paul M., 1990. "Human capital and growth: Theory and evidence," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 251-286, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Meiling He & Jiaren Shen & Xiaohui Wu & Jianqiang Luo, 2018. "Logistics Space: A Literature Review from the Sustainability Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-24, August.
    2. Ada Wolny & Marek Ogryzek & Ryszard Źróbek, 2019. "Towards Sustainable Development and Preventing Exclusions—Determining Road Accessibility at the Sub-Regional and Local Level in Rural Areas of Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-21, September.
    3. A S M Abdul Quium, 2019. "Transport Corridors for Wider Socio–Economic Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-23, September.
    4. Liu, Tie-Ying, 2019. "Spatial structure convergence of China's transportation system," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Ng, Choy Peng & Law, Teik Hua & Jakarni, Fauzan Mohd & Kulanthayan, S., 2018. "Relative improvements in road mobility as compared to improvements in road accessibility and urban growth: A panel data analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 292-301.
    6. Hong Xu & Jin Zhao & Xincan Yu & Xiaoxia Mei & Xinle Zhang & Chuanjie Yan, 2023. "A Model Assembly Approach of Planning Urban–Rural Transportation Network: A Case Study of Jiangxia District, Wuhan, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-23, August.
    7. Zheng, Qing Yuan & Law, Teik Hua & Wong, Shaw Voon & Ng, Choy Peng, 2024. "Relative improvements between roads and railways and economic performance: A panel data analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 87-96.
    8. Saba, Charles Shaaba, 2021. "Convergence and transition paths in transportation: Fresh insights from a club clustering algorithm," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 80-93.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zheng, Qing Yuan & Law, Teik Hua & Wong, Shaw Voon & Ng, Choy Peng, 2024. "Relative improvements between roads and railways and economic performance: A panel data analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 87-96.
    2. Ng, Choy Peng & Law, Teik Hua & Jakarni, Fauzan Mohd & Kulanthayan, S., 2018. "Relative improvements in road mobility as compared to improvements in road accessibility and urban growth: A panel data analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 292-301.
    3. Jones, C.I., 2016. "The Facts of Economic Growth," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & Harald Uhlig (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 3-69, Elsevier.
    4. Charles I. Jones & Paul M. Romer, 2010. "The New Kaldor Facts: Ideas, Institutions, Population, and Human Capital," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 224-245, January.
    5. Amavilah, Voxi Heinrich, 2014. "Knowledge = Technology + Human Capital and the Lucas and Romer Production Functions," MPRA Paper 58847, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Gilles Duranton, 2007. "From cities to productivity and growth in developing countries," Working Papers tecipa-306, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    7. William Hauk & Romain Wacziarg, 2009. "A Monte Carlo study of growth regressions," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 103-147, June.
    8. Harrison, Ann & Rodríguez-Clare, Andrés, 2010. "Trade, Foreign Investment, and Industrial Policy for Developing Countries," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Dani Rodrik & Mark Rosenzweig (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 4039-4214, Elsevier.
    9. Bos, J.W.B. & Economidou, C. & Koetter, M. & Kolari, J.W., 2010. "Do all countries grow alike?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 113-127, January.
    10. Sahoo, Pravakar & Dash, Ranjan Kumar & Nataraj, Geethanjali, 2010. "Infrastructure development and economic growth in China," IDE Discussion Papers 261, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    11. Stephane Straub, 2011. "Infrastructure and Development: A Critical Appraisal of the Macro-level Literature," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(5), pages 683-708.
    12. Lenkei, Balint & Mustafa, Ghulam & Vecchi, Michela, 2018. "Growth in emerging economies: Is there a role for education?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 240-253.
    13. Uwe Sunde & Thomas Vischer, 2015. "Human Capital and Growth: Specification Matters," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 82(326), pages 368-390, April.
    14. Caselli, Francesco & Ciccone, Antonio, 2013. "The contribution of schooling in development accounting: Results from a nonparametric upper bound," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 199-211.
    15. Erik Hornung, 2012. "Human Capital, Technology Diffusion, and Economic Growth - Evidence from Prussian Census Data," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 46.
    16. Hooi Lean, Hooi & Huang, Wei & Hong, Junjie, 2014. "Logistics and economic development: Experience from China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 96-104.
    17. Nicola Gennaioli & Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2013. "Human Capital and Regional Development," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(1), pages 105-164.
    18. Straub, Stephane, 2008. "Infrastructure and growth in developing countries : recent advances and research challenges," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4460, The World Bank.
    19. Gilles Duranton, 2008. "Viewpoint: From cities to productivity and growth in developing countries," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 41(3), pages 689-736, August.
    20. Antonio Ciccone & Elias Papaioannou, 2009. "Human Capital, the Structure of Production, and Growth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(1), pages 66-82, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:60:y:2017:i:c:p:24-33. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30473/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.