Causality in the Link Between Road Network Growth and Regional Development

This paper investigates the relationship between the growth of road networks and regional development. The authors test for mutual causality between the growth of road networks (which are divided functionally into local roads and highways) and changes in county-level population and employment. The authors employ a panel data set containing observations of road mileage by type for all Minnesota counties over the period 1988 to 2007 to fit a model describing changes in road networks, population and employment. Results indicate that causality runs in both directions between population and local road networks, while no evidence of causality in either direction is found for networks and local employment. The authors interpret the findings as evidence of a weakening influence of road networks (and transportation more generally) on location, and suggest methods for refining the empirical approach described herein.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADD10 Transportation and Economic Development.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Iacono, Michael
  • Levinson, David
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC
  • Date: 2014-1-12 to 2014-1-16
• Date: 2014

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 21p
• Monograph Title: TRB 93rd Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Counties; Employment; Population; Regional development
• Uncontrolled Terms: Road networks
• Geographic Terms: Minnesota
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01516501
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 14-4805
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 28 2014 1:32PM