Search

First paragraph: Transport plays a vital role in every day life. The efficient movement of people and goods is an essential part of a productive economy as well as being important for social cohesion, health and well-being. Investment or policy intervention in the transport system is, therefore, in support of these other wider objectives or to tackle externalities such as climate change or congestion. The institutional structures underpinning transport have, however, developed around modes and networks and around the industries of transport. The arrangements vary significantly between modes and, increasingly, across areas. There is a multitude of governance networks rather than a single overarching ‘governance of the transport system’. This makes it difficult to achieve integrated outcomes.

First paragraph: The overall aim of this thematic review is to identify the current state-of-the-art of our knowledge of the relationship between infrastructure and productivity. The paper focuses on two particular forms of infrastructure, namely transport and digital/broadband. This is because other basic infrastructures, such as water, drainage and electricity, are effectively ‘binary’ in their supply – i.e. individuals and firms are either connected to these networks or they’re not, and the services supplied via these infrastructures either function or they don’t – whereas the *level* of service provided by transport and digital connectivity varies. The impacts of transport infrastructure investment is also a key concern of the authors’ own research work. The paper is structured as follows: first, it reviews the longstanding debate about the links between transport infrastructure and the economy, and the recent debates about the impacts on economic agglomeration, which are seen as key to productivity enhancement. It then goes on to examine the more limited research base on digital connectivity. Finally, the issue of the level of productivity within the infrastructure sector is addressed. The paper draws on a recent review carried out by the authors for the Scottish Cities Alliance (SCA) on the relationship between transport infrastructure and the economic aspirations of City Deals, and we are grateful for the assistance of colleagues in the city authorities in developing the analysis developed here. The section on digital connectivity draws on another earlier SCA review paper produced by our colleague Prof Donald Houston, now of the University of Portsmouth.

No abstract available.

This document outlines the case for continued investment in urban local transport through the recession and beyond. Investing in better transport has been an important part of the stimulus package implemented by government in order to support key sectors of the economy through the recession. Continuing and sustaining this investment for the long term will be an equally important part of the recovery phase, since improving local transport is one of the most effective means of supporting jobs and businesses