The Brasilia Experiment : Road Access and the Spatial Pattern of Long-term Local Development in Brazil

This paper studies the impact of the rapid expansion of the Brazilian road network, which occurred from the 1960s to the 2000s, on the growth and spatial allocation of population and economic activity across the country's municipalities. It addresses the problem of endogeneity in infrastructure location by using an original empirical strategy, based on the "historical natural experiment" constituted by the creation of the new federal capital city Brasília in 1960. The results reveal a dual pattern, with improved transport connections increasing concentration of economic activity and population around the main centers in the South of the country, while spurring the emergence of secondary economic centers in the less developed North, in line with predictions in terms of agglomeration economies. Over the period, roads are shown to account for half of pcGDP growth and to spur a significant decrease in spatial inequality.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Bird, Julia, Straub, Stephane
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank Group, Washington, DC 2014-07
Subjects:	ACCESS TO INFRASTRUCTURE, AGGLOMERATION ECONOMIES, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AGRICULTURE, BENCHMARK, CENSUSES, CENTER FOR POPULATION, CONCENTRATION OF POPULATION, CONGESTION, COST OF TRAVEL, DECENTRALIZATION, DEMOCRACY, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, DIVIDENDS, DRINKING WATER, DRIVING, ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC OUTCOMES, ECONOMIC RESEARCH, ECONOMIC SPECIALIZATION, ECONOMIC THEORY, ELASTICITIES, ELASTICITY, EQUALITY, EXOGENOUS VARIABLES, EXTERNALITIES, FREIGHT, GDP, GDP PER CAPITA, GROWTH RATE, HEALTH FACILITIES, HIGHWAY, HIGHWAY NETWORK, HIGHWAY SYSTEM, HIGHWAYS, HUMAN CAPITAL, IMPROVEMENT OF ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE, INCOME LEVELS, INDUSTRIALIZATION, INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES, INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM, LABOR MARKET, LABOR MARKETS, LARGE CITIES, LITERACY RATES, LOCAL DEVELOPMENT, METROPOLITAN AREAS, METROPOLITAN REGIONS, MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRY, MIGRANT, MIGRATION, MIGRATION PROCESS, MODE OF TRANSPORT, MUNICIPALITIES, MUNICIPALITY, NATIONAL POPULATION, NEIGHBORHOOD, OPPORTUNITY COST, PASSENGERS, POLICY DISCUSSIONS, POLICY IMPLICATIONS, POLICY RESEARCH, POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER, POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT, POPULATION DECREASE, POPULATION DENSITY, POPULATION GROWTH, POPULATION INCREASE, POPULATION INCREASES, POPULATION MOVEMENT, POPULATION MOVEMENTS, POPULATION SIZE, POPULATION VARIABLES, PRODUCTION FUNCTION, PROGRESS, PROXY, PUBLIC POLICY, PULL FACTOR, PULL FACTORS, RAILROADS, RESPECT, ROAD, ROAD BUILDING, ROAD CONNECTIONS, ROAD CONSTRUCTION, ROAD DEVELOPMENT, ROAD IMPROVEMENTS, ROAD NETWORK, ROAD SECTOR, ROAD SYSTEMS, ROADS, ROUTE, ROUTES, RURAL AREAS, SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION, SPILLOVER, STOCKS, TRANSPORT, TRANSPORT ACCESS, TRANSPORT CORRIDORS, TRANSPORT COSTS, TRANSPORTATION, TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS, TRANSPORTATION COSTS, TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENT, TRAVEL COSTS, TRUCK TRANSPORT, UNFPA, UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND, URBAN AREAS, URBAN CENTER, URBAN CENTERS, URBAN DEVELOPMENT, URBAN POPULATION, URBAN ROADS, URBANIZATION, VALUE ADDED, VEHICLES, WAR,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/07/19760007/brasilia-experiment-road-access-spatial-pattern-long-term-local-development-brazil https://hdl.handle.net/10986/19361
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