Gkritza, K (2006) Economic development effects of highway investment. PhD thesis, Purdue University, USA.
Abstract
The evaluation of transportation projects has traditionally been carried out in the context of economic efficiency in terms of savings in travel time, vehicle operating cost, and safety. The broader long-term effects on economic development (i.e. , job, income and business growth) are a concern of transportation planners and decision-makers but have been often overlooked due to the lack of a reliable impact estimation methodology and/or data. Information on economic development effects of proposed highway investments is valuable for understanding the total impact of project proposals and ensuring an efficient allocation of resources. The present research extends the traditional transportation impact framework by examining how different types of highway improvements can affect a state's economy, and how project- and location-specific factors interact to stimulate economic development. The analysis went beyond accounting for user benefits and travel efficiency improvements and included additional economic development benefits in terms of business cost savings and productivity benefits. The end product of this research is a quantitative tool that can be used at the project development phase to estimate the economic development effects of different types of highway investments. The models developed in this study are calibrated using data from the Indiana Department of Transportation. A major contribution of this work is the demonstration of a general approach that can be applied for broad analysis of a highway project's economic development effects at the state-level, while taking into account the intensity of highway system use. The results set forth herein provide a better understanding of the interrelationships among economic development, type of highway improvement and geographical location, and how investments in highway infrastructure can be ranked and prioritized based on sound economic development criteria. Moreover, this study illustrates the types of data necessary to document these effects and demonstrates how analysis can be carried out and ultimately improved. Given the complexity of the problem and the limitations of available data, this study should be viewed as an incremental step toward a broad analysis of the economic impacts of highway projects.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Sinha, K C and Mannering, F L |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | accounting; complexity; highway; investment; productivity; safety; economic development; economic impact; efficiency; India |
| Index terms: | India, cost saving, project development, highway infrastructure, estimate, income, highway construction, planner, operating cost, productivity, estimation, savings, efficiency, business growth, accounting, complexity, methodology, economic impact, transportation project, economic development, proposal |
| Subjects: | research methods, performance management, economics, civil engineering, economic development, management, Geography, financial analysis, systems engineering, infrastructure and transport systems, profession, strategic management, project delivery, financial and cost management, economic analysis, project planning |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Geographical Context, Quality Management, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Cost Management, Business Strategy |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here