Working Paper: NBER ID: w27254
Authors: Gilles Duranton; Geetika Nagpal; Matthew Turner
Abstract: Support for massive investments in transportation infrastructure, possibly with a change in the share of spending on transit, seems widespread. Such proposals are often motivated by the belief that our infrastructure is crumbling, that infrastructure causes economic growth, that current funding regimes disadvantage rural drivers at the expense of urban public transit, or that capacity expansions will reduce congestion. In fact, most US transportation infrastructure is not deteriorating and the existing scientific literature does not show that infrastructure creates growth or reduces congestion. However, current annual expenditure on public transit buses exceeds that on interstate construction and maintenance. A careful examination of how funding is allocated across modes is suggested by the evidence. Massive new expenditures are not.
Keywords: transportation infrastructure; public transit; economic growth; congestion; expenditure allocation
JEL Codes: R1; R4
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| infrastructure quality (H54) | economic growth (O49) |
| increased expenditure (H59) | infrastructure upkeep (H54) |
| capacity expansions (D25) | speed of travel (R41) |
| policy preferences (D72) | funding distribution (D39) |
| funding decisions (I22) | transportation outcomes (R41) |