Valuing Domestic Transport Infrastructure: A View from the Route Choice of Exporters

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Fan, Jingting; Lu, Yi; Luo, Wenlan
• 署名单位: Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE); Pennsylvania State University; Pennsylvania State University - University Park; Tsinghua University
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01084
• 发表日期: 2023-11
• 页码: 1562-1579
• 关键词: INTERNATIONAL-TRADE; networks; QUALITY; IMPACT; COSTS; size

摘要

A key input to quantitative evaluations of transport infrastructure projects is their impact on transport costs. We propose a new method of estimating this impact relying on widely accessible customs data: by using the route choice of exporters. We combine our method with a spatial equilibrium model to study the effects of the massive expressway construction in China between 1999 and 2010. We find transport costs are 20% lower on expressways than on regular roads. The expressways construction increases aggregate exports by 10% and domestic trade by 14%. It generates 5.1% welfare gains, implying a 150% net return to investment.