Beschreibung

"Investments in infrastructure have always been an issue in political discussions about future (local) economic development. Besides the overall effects of infrastructure on a country's GDP, the regional and local consequences of the latter are of special interest to policymakers. Infrastructure is generally defined by its different constituents - for example, the water and power supply, communication network, or transport infrastructure (such as road or rail) - of a region. Questions about the role of infrastructure mainly concern spatial aspects: For instance, the importance of proximity to main transport axes, or how information and communication networks can reduce physical distance are issues often addressed. In developed countries, infrastructure mainly drives the spatial economic interaction between cities, suburbs and peripheral regions. In contrast, a lack of infrastructure is one reason for the rapid urbanization of developing countries. This chapter reviews the current findings in this field. To put the literature into perspective, we utilize the case of transport infrastructure on the regional labor market development. For this, we examine the long-term effects of the German Autobahn network on regional wages and local employment structure, and look at current road investment in Germany." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))