DISCUSSION.

This article presents a discussion on the research paper "Transportation and Economic Development," in the context of problems faced by developing countries, by Wilfred Owen, a professor at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., published in the May 1959 issue of the journal "American Economic Review." In considering the kind of transport system to be developed for an area, Owen has ably set forth the many factors that must be considered. He recognizes that the transport media already in existence must be taken into consideration. In other words, the problem is quite different in an area not previously provided with some form of modem transport and an area in which railways or water transport or both had been previously developed to some degree. It must also be recognized that the different forms of transport are not complete substitutes of one for another. Each has its peculiar advantages and limitations. Air transport, for instance, requires the least investment but gives the highest ton-mile operating costs, railroads require the largest capital investment and, except for water transport, usually produce the lowest ton-mile operating cost. Highway transport appears to stand between air and rail transport as far as capital requirements and ton-mile operating costs are concerned.