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Does Highway Access Influence Local Employment? Evidence from German Municipalities

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  • Luisa Dörr
  • Stefanie Gäbler

Abstract

We examine how highway accessibility influences local employment outcomes. We exploit the stagewise expansion of the ”Baltic Sea highway”, the largest contiguous highway construction project in Germany since 1945. Results from difference-indifferences estimations and an event study approach show that highway access influences local employment outcomes in peripheral municipalities within 10 km road distance. Improved accessibility decreases employment by 9%. These effects are driven by reduced commuter flows within the periphery, while we find opposing effects on core municipalities. Improved accessibility also gives rise to a shift of population and economic activity from the periphery to the core, weakening the periphery as a place of work.

Suggested Citation

  • Luisa Dörr & Stefanie Gäbler, 2022. "Does Highway Access Influence Local Employment? Evidence from German Municipalities," ifo Working Paper Series 377, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ifowps:_377
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Highway; infrastructure; accessibility; commuting; employment; municipalities; local governments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H54 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Infrastructures
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure

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