This paper contributes to the understanding of the long-run consequences of Roman rule on economic development. In ancient times, the area of contemporary Germany was divided into a Roman and non-Roman part. The study uses this division to test whether the formerly Roman part of Germany show a...

The increase in market access that the expansion of the road network and the growth of Europe created between 1990 and 2012 raised GDP, employment and attracted population. An increase in market access by 1% increases GDP in a region, on average, by 0.2%, employment by 0.7% and population by...

This paper investigates the reversibility of the effects of transport infrastructure investments, based on a programme that removed much of the rail network in Britain during the mid-20th Century. We find that a 10% loss in rail access between 1950 and 1980 caused a persistent 3% decline in...

This chapter surveys the theoretical and empirical literature on the relationship between the spatial distribution of economic activity and transportation costs. We develop a multiregion model of economic geography that we use to understand the general equilibrium implications of transportation...

Cableways alleviate access to the Alps and were crucial in establishing the skiing tourism boom of the after-war years. Moreover, cableway operators employ a large share of residents, are complemented by tourism-related services and are therefore a key economic pillar in otherwise laggard...

We show that smaller, regional public financial intermediaries significantly contributed to industrial development, using a new data set of the foundation year and location of Prussian savings banks. This extends the banking-growth nexus beyond its traditional focus on the large universal banks,...

Italy has been characterized, throughout its history as a unified country, by large regional differentials in the levels of income, industrialization and socio-economic development. This paper aims at testing the New Economic Geography hypothesis on the role of market access in explaining these...

We evaluate how access to international transport infrastructure promotes trade and economic development. Exploiting the gradual unfolding of transcontinental rail freight connections between China and Europe, our empirical findings indicate increasing exports from connected cities, with...

The purpose of this research is the post-opening evaluation of "Attiki Odos Motorway" (AOM) socio-economic impacts, during the period of its operation. The AOM is the peripheral ring-road of the metropolitan Athens-Attica area. To this end, the study estimates an ex post project's "Overall...