The Role of Space in Public Capital Research

Abstract

The role of public capital in the economy is an emerging research area with theoretical significance and societal and policy relevance. Several academic disciplines and public institutions are regular contributors to this research field. The range of findings of these studies extends from virtually no role to a very strong role for public capital in the economy. Reconciling the varied and sometimes contradictory results has not been a high priority among researchers. The lack of attention to spatial forces, an issue gaining attention only relatively recently, also has been troublesome. This article reviews public capital research along three primary dimensions: the dependent variable, scale of analysis, and attention to spatial processes. The authors emphasize scale and space as among the most important but least discussed differences among public capital studies and then focus on the nature of the economic processes at work and detectable at different scales of analysis.

Public investment in transportation infrastructures and regional asymmetries in Portugal

“…This paper is in the confluence of the literature on the regional effects of public infrastructures and the literature on the relevance of regional spillovers [see Pereira and Roca-Sagales (2003) for a detailed discussion of the relevant literature]. One possible explanation for the inconclusive nature of the literature on the regional effects of public infrastructures is that it ignores spillover effects [see, for example, Boarnet (1998) and Mikelbank and Jackson (2000)]. Indeed, it could be argued that spillovers are an integral part of the regional impact of public infrastructures [see, for example, Haugwout (1989) and (2002)].…”

Spillover effects of public capital formation: evidence from the Spanish regions

“…One possible conjecture as to the inconclusive nature of the research with a regional focus is that this is due to the fact that this research ignores network effects [see, for example, Boarnet (1998) and Mikelbank and Jackson (2000)]. Indeed, it could be argued that network effects should be an integral part of the analysis of the regional impact of public capital formation.…”

The rôle of transport in firms' spatial organization: evidence from the Spanish food processing industry

“…Within this area of study, most empirical research focused on the aggregate implications of infrastructure investment for output and productivity (for an excellent recent review see, for example, Mikelbank & Jackson, 2000). Haughwout (1998) argues that aggregate approaches neglect the role of infrastructure for individual firms and their mobility over space.…”