The study sought to test the tenability of the hypothesis of a positive link between transportation infrastructure and development in the context of less developed countries (LDCs). The west and central Africa region, comprising twenty-four contiguous countries, constitutes the empirical referent. Two main forms of the generalized linear model, including zero-order and multiple regression involving natural logarithms and assuming the classic Cobb-Douglas production function, are employed. Development, the dependent variable, is operationalized in terms of the Human Development Index (HDI) and Growth National Income per capita (GNI/Cap). The independent variables include the different major forms of transportation infrastructure (roads, rail, airports, seaports, waterways, and pipelines). The results show a strong positive relationship between transportation infrastructure and development. Not only does this revelation conform to the findings of previous studies in more developed countries (MDCs), it suggests that the link between transportation infrastructure and development may actually be stronger in LDCs than in MDCs.
AschauerD.A.Is public expenditure productive?J Monet Econ.1989; 23: 177–200.
2.
AschauerD.A.Why is infrastructure important? In: MunnellA.H. editor. Is there a shortfall in public capital investment?Boston: Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; 1990. p. 21–50.
3.
AschauerD.A.Transportation spending and economic growth: the effects of transit and highway expenditures. (Report). Washington, D.C: American Transit Association; 1991.
4.
Bajo-RobioO., Sosvilla-RiveroS.Does public capital affect private sector performance? An analysis of the Spanish case.Econ Model.1993; 10(3): 179–86.
5.
BanisterD., BerechmanJ.Transport investment and economic development.London: University College London (UCL) Press; 2000.
6.
BerechmanJ.Urban and regional economic impacts of transportation investment: a critical assessment and proposed methodology.Transp Res A.1995; 28(4): 351–62.
7.
BergmanA., MaromA.Growth factor in the business sector in Israel (1958–1988), Discussion Paper 93,02, Research Department, Bank of Israel, June. 1995.
8.
BothamR.The road programme and regional development: the problem of the counterfactual. In: ButtonK., GillingwaterD. editors. Transportation location and spatial policy.Aldershot: Avebury; 1983. p. 23–56.
9.
CobbC.W., DouglasP.H.A theory of production. Am Econ Rev.(Supplement).1959; 18: 139–65.
10.
CostaJ.S., EllsonR.W., MartinR.C.Public capital, regional output, and development: some empirical evidence.J Reg Sci.1987; 27(3): 419–37.
11.
DalenbergD.R., PartridgeM.D.The effects of taxes, expenditures, and public infrastructure on metropolitan area employment.J Reg Sci.1995; 35(4): 617–44.
12.
DalenbergD.R., PartridgeM.D.Public infrastructure and wages: public capital's role as a productive input and household amenity.Land Econ.1997; 73(2): 268–84.
13.
Duffy-DenoK.T., EbertsR.W.Public infrastructure and regional economic development: a simultaneous equations approach.J Urban Econ.1991; 30(3): 329–43.
14.
EbertsR.W.Public infrastructure and regional economic development.Fed Reserv Bank Cleveland Econ Rev.1990; 26: 15–27.
15.
EisnerR.Infrastructure and regional economic performance.New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. 1991; (Sept/Oct.) 47–58.
16.
EvansP., KarrasG.Is government capital productive? Evidence from a panel of seven countries.J Macroecon.1994; 16(2): 271–9.
17.
Garcia-MilaT.J., McGuireT.The contribution of publicly provided inputs to states' economies.Reg Sci Urban Econ.1992; 22: 229–41.
18.
Garcia-MilaT., McGuireJ., PorterR.H.The effect of public capital in state-level production functions reconsidered.Rev Econ Stat.1996; 78(1): 177–80.
19.
GillenD.W.Transportation infrastructure and economic development: a review of recent literature.Logist Transp Rev.1996; 32(1): 39–62.
GwilliamK.M., JudgeE.J.The M62 and Transport Movement 1970–1977, Paper given at the Regional Studies Conference on Transport and the Regions, London, March, and the Institute for Transport Studies, Leeds University, Working Paper 41; 1978.
22.
HellingA.Transportation and economic development; a review.Public Works Manag Policy.1997; 2(1): 79–93.
23.
HerbstJ.States and power in Africa: comparative lessons in authority and control.Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; 2000.
24.
HoyleB., SmithJ.Transport and Development. In: HoyleB.S., KnowlesR.D. editors. op. cit; 1992. pp. 12–22.
25.
KeelingD.J.Latin America's transportation conundrum.J Lat Am Geography.2008; 7(2): 133–54.
26.
LeinbachT.R.Transport development and modernization in Malaya.Geogr Ann Ser B.1975; 57(1): 63–7.
27.
MabogunjeA.L.The development process: a spatial perspective.2nd ed.London: Unwin and Hyman; 1989.
MunnellA.H.An Assessment of Trends in and Economic Impacts of Infrastructure Investment.In Infrastructure Policies for the 1990s.Paris, OECD; 1993. pp. 21–54.
30.
NjohA.J.Technology transfer and public transportation functioning in less developed countries: an exploratory study.J Third World Stud.1999; XV: 187–207.
31.
NjohA.J.Transportation infrastructure and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa.Public Works Management & Policy.2000; 4(4): 286–96.
32.
NjohA.J.African cities and regional trade in historical perspective: implications for contemporary globalization trends.Cities, An International Journal of Public Policy and Planning.2006; 23(1): 18–29.
33.
NjohA.J.Implications of Africa's transportation systems for development in the era of globalization.Rev Black Polit Econ.2008; 35: 147–62.
34.
PetersonS.K., JesupE.L.Transportation Infrastructure and Economic Activity: Evidence Using Vector Autoregression, Error Correction and Directed Acyclic Graphs. Paper Presented at the Annual Forum of the Transportation Research Forum, Boston, MA; 2007.
35.
Proinvest.org. 2005. Water, Energy and Transport: Transport Sector Profile—West and Central African Countries.Paris: Proinvest, Group of African Caribbean & Pacific States and the European Commission for the Promotion of Investment and Technology Transfer to ACP Countries. Available Online at: www.proinvest.org.
36.
Prud'hommeR.Assessing the role of infrastructure in France by means of regionally estimated production functions.Paris: Observatoire de l'Economie et des institutions locales; 1993.
37.
RephannT.J.Highway investment and regional economic development: decision methods and empirical foundations.Urban Stud.1993; 30(2): 437–50.
38.
SeersD.The meaning of development.Int Dev Rev.1969; 11(4): 3–4.
39.
SeersD.The new meaning of development.Int Dev Rev.1977; 3: 2–7.
40.
SeitzH.A dual economic analysis of the benefits of the public road network.Ann Reg Sci.1993; 27(2): 223–39.
41.
TaaffeE.J., MorrillR.L., GouldP.R.Transport expansion in underdeveloped countries: a comparative analysis.Geogr Rev.1963; 53: 503–29.
42.
TatomJ.A.Public capital and private sector performance. Fed Reserv Bank St.Louis Rev.1991; 73: 3–15.
43.
TodaroM.P.Economic development in the third world.4th ed.Harlow: Longman; 1989.
44.
TRB.Transportation and Economic Development.Portland, Oregon: Transportation Research Board. Transportation Research Circular No. E-C050, May 5–7, 2002; 2003.
45.
UN.Statistical yearbook.50th ed.New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division of Statistics; 2006.
46.
Von ThünenJ.H.Der Isolierte Staat in Beziehung auf Landwirtschaft un Nationalokonomie, Translated by CM. Wortenberg (1966). Oxford: Pergamon Press; 1826.
