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The permanent effects of transportation revolutions in poor countries: evidence from Africa
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 19:56 authored by Remi Jedwab, Alexander MoradiWe exploit the construction and eventual demise of the colonial railroads in Africa to study the impact of transportation investments in poor countries. Using Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, we assembled new data on railroads and cities spanning over one century to show that: (i) Railroads had large effects on the spatial distribution and aggregate level of economic activity during the colonial period, as they constituted a transportation revolution in a context where no modern transportation technology previously existed. (ii) These effects have persisted to date, although railroads collapsed and road networks expanded considerably in the post-independence period. The analysis contributes to our understanding of the heterogeneous impact of transportation investments. It shows that initial investments may have a large effect in poor countries with basic infrastructure. As the countries develop, increasing returns may then solidify their spatial distribution, and subsequent investments may have a smaller effect on local economic development.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Review of Economics and StatisticsISSN
0034-6535Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology PressExternal DOI
Issue
2Volume
98Page range
268-284Department affiliated with
- Economics Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes