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Roads and Trade: Evidence from the U.S

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  • Gilles Duranton
  • Peter Morrow
  • Matthew Turner

Abstract

We estimate the effect of interstate highways on the level and composition of trade for us cities. Highways within cities have a large effect on the weight of city exports with an elasticity of approximately 0.5. We find little effect of highways on the total value of exports. Consistent with this, we find that cities with more highways specialize in sectors producing heavy goods.

Suggested Citation

  • Gilles Duranton & Peter Morrow & Matthew Turner, 2013. "Roads and Trade: Evidence from the U.S," Working Papers tecipa-479, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-479
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    interstate highways; transportation costs; trade and specializartion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • R49 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Other

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