Cart or horse: Transport and economic growth

Arbeitspapier

This paper argues that transport is more cart than horse, in that transport improvements are not the most important driver of economic growth for most countries. Nevertheless there are circumstances in which transport is particularly important. Big transport breakthroughs - such as replacing walking with railways, or creating a highways network for the first time - do have big effects, but these are unlikely to be seen again in developed economies. Instead transport in developed economies is best seen as having a supporting role. If it is neglected, it can constrain growth, as congestion and unreliable transport systems can exact a heavy price. But as long as the transport system is good enough, the returns to greater transport investment will be relatively limited.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: International Transport Forum Discussion Paper ; No. 2011-4

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Leunig, Tim
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), International Transport Forum
• (where): Paris
• (when): 2011

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.1787/5kg9mq4ws027-en
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/68811
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET