Spatial Productivity Spillovers from Public Infrastructure: Evidence from State Highways

20 Pages Posted: 10 Jul 2000 Last revised: 6 Mar 2022

See all articles by Douglas Holtz-Eakin

Douglas Holtz-Eakin

Syracuse University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Amy Ellen Schwartz

New York University (NYU) - Institute for Education and Social Policy; Syracuse University - Center for Policy Research; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: February 1995

Abstract

Is public sector infrastructure a key determinant of productivity? Traditional, project-based analyses of benefits and costs typically do not find large rates of return. Proponents of infrastructure spending instead point to regression-based analyses of the links between private productivity and public infrastructure that imply large productivity effects from public spending. The disparity in estimated returns is often attributed to geographic spillovers in productivity benefits that are not captured by disaggregated analyses. We examine the degree to which state highways provide productivity benefits beyond the narrow confines of each state's borders. Despite the fact that state highways -- especially the interstate highway system -- are designed at least in part with interstate linkages in mind, we find no evidence of quantitatively important productivity spillovers.

Suggested Citation

Holtz-Eakin, Douglas and Schwartz, Amy Ellen and Schwartz, Amy Ellen, Spatial Productivity Spillovers from Public Infrastructure: Evidence from State Highways (February 1995). NBER Working Paper No. w5004, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=225783

Douglas Holtz-Eakin (Contact Author)

Syracuse University ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Amy Ellen Schwartz

Syracuse University - Center for Policy Research ( email )

Syracuse, NY 13244
United States

New York University (NYU) - Institute for Education and Social Policy ( email )

United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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