Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Assessing road investments: accessibility changes, cost benefit and production effects

  • Published:
The Annals of Regional Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Infrastructure investment projects and programmes are generally evaluated by comparing project costs with pertinent benefits. In this paper a series of alternative national road investment programmes in Sweden are examined. Each programme is assessed in terms of expected time savings and reduced accident rates. In addition we make use of a general production function with regionally specific accessibility characteristics as arguments. With this approach, improved accessibility implies an increase of the production potential. The paper compares the value of these production effects with the value of time savings and other benefits in a standard CB-calculation. In the comparisons more than 50 alternative national investment programmes are assessed, and their degree of consistency is estimated.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aschauer DA (1989) Is public expenditure productive? J Monetary Econ 23:177–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Batten DF, Westin L (1989) Modelling commodity flows on trade networks: Retrospect and prospect. In: Chatterji M, Kuenne R (eds) New frontiers in regional science. MacMillan, London, pp 135–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Biehl D (1986) The contribution of infrastructure to regional development. Regional Policy Division, EC, Brussels

    Google Scholar 

  • Cecchini P (1988) The european challenge 1992 — The benefits of a single market. The Commission of the European Communities, Brussels

    Google Scholar 

  • Deno KT (1988) The effect of public capital on U.S. manufacturing activity: 1970–1978. South Econ J 55:400–411

    Google Scholar 

  • Forslund UM, Karlsson C (1992) Infrastructure and its contribution to regional development. In: Andersson L, Blom T (eds) The medium-sized city — Research for renewal. Research Report 92:3, University of Karlstad

    Google Scholar 

  • Gramlich EM (1990) A Guide to Benefit-cost analysis. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmberg I, Strömqvist U (1988) Regional transportation and economy, LOSE — Länstrafik och samhällsekonomi, bil. 3. Transportforskningsberedningen, Stockholm (in Swedish)

  • Johansson B (1991) Transportation infrastructure, productivity and growth. In: Thord R (ed) The future of transportation and communication, Swedish National Road Administration, Stockholm

    Google Scholar 

  • Johansson B (1993) Infrastructure, accessibility and economic growth. Int J Transp Econ XX No 2:131–156

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller TE, Ying J (1988) Measuring the benefits of a large public investment: the case of the U.S. federal-aid highway system. J Publ Econ 36(1):64–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindberg G (1992) The empire of road planning — Is there a meeting place for micro and macro approaches. In: Hesselborn P-O (ed) Infrastruktur och samhällsekonomi. Transportforskningsberedningen TFB 1992:21, Stockholm (in Swedish)

  • Mills ES, Carlino G (1989) Dynamics of county growth. In: Andersson ÅE, Batten DF, Johansson B, Nijkamp P (eds) Advances in spatial theory and dynamics. North Holland, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Munnel AH (1990) Why has productivity growth declined? Productivity and public investment. New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January/February:3–22

  • Rietveld P (1989) Infrastructure and regional development. A survey of multiregional economic models. Ann Reg Sci 23:255–274

    Google Scholar 

  • Seitz H (1993) A dual economic analysis of the benefits of the public road network. Ann Reg Sci 27:223–239

    Google Scholar 

  • Snickars F, Weibull J (1977) A minimum information principle: theory and practice. Reg Sci Urban Econ 7:137–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Small KA (1992) Urban transportation economics. Harwood Academic, Reading

    Google Scholar 

  • Starret DA (1988) Foundations of public economics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Vägverket (1993) Inriktningsdiskussion inför vägplaneringen 1994–2003, 1993–01. Borlänge (in Swedish)

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Institute of Technology, University College of Karlstad, S-10044, Stockholm, Sweden

    Ulla M. Forslund

  2. Royal Institute of Technology, Regional Planning, S-10044, Stockholm, Sweden

    Börje Johansson

Authors
  1. Ulla M. Forslund
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Börje Johansson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the European RSA-conference in Moscow, August 1993 and has benefitted from comments during the conference. The authors are grateful for suggestions rendered by two anonymous referees. We also wish to thank R. Jonsson, G. Lindberg and L.-G. Mattsson. Supply of data and research funds from the National Road Administration is acknowledged.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Forslund, U.M., Johansson, B. Assessing road investments: accessibility changes, cost benefit and production effects. Ann Reg Sci 29, 155–174 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01581804

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01581804

Keywords

Search

Navigation