IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jecomi/v12y2024i8p221-d1461995.html

Unraveling the Nexus between Road Transport Infrastructures and Economic Growth: Empirical Insights from Nepal’s Case

Author

Listed:
  • Keshab Kumar Sharma

    (Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Government of Nepal, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal)

  • Netra Prakash Bhandary

    (Department of Environmental Design, Faculty of Collaborative Regional Innovation, Ehime University, Matsuyama 790-8577, Ehime, Japan)

  • Mandip Subedi

    (Geoinfra Research Institute, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal
    Universal Engineering and Science College, Lalitpur 44700, Nepal)

  • Rojee Pradhananga

    (Department of Civil Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Lalitpur 44700, Nepal)

Abstract

Sustained efforts and investments in different sectors are essential for the overall development of a region. Various studies around the globe underscore the importance of investment in road transport infrastructure in many developing countries to achieve their development targets. The relationship between infrastructure investment and economic growth is often found to be inconsistent. This ambiguity leads to a lack of consensus on an appropriate scale of investment required among the policy makers. So, it is often necessary to depend on empirical evidence by developing causality direction, which significantly contributes to policy implications in developing countries. The objective of this analytical study is developing a relationship between the road transport infrastructure and economic growth of Nepal. For this, relevant data from 1998 to 2022 were used to perform a unit root test and determine the order of integration, followed by cointegration analysis to determine the long-run relationship between the variables. In addition, the vector error correction model (VECM) was employed to find the direction of causality. The findings indicate unidirectional long-run causality from gross capital formation, exports of goods and services, expenditure on road transport infrastructures, and road length to the GDP of Nepal. Furthermore, the expenditure on road transport infrastructures is observed to have a short-run impact on economic growth. This study recommends that a suitable transportation policy should be implemented to boost investment on road transport infrastructures to achieve sustainable economic growth in Nepal-like developing nations.

Suggested Citation

  • Keshab Kumar Sharma & Netra Prakash Bhandary & Mandip Subedi & Rojee Pradhananga, 2024. "Unraveling the Nexus between Road Transport Infrastructures and Economic Growth: Empirical Insights from Nepal’s Case," Economies, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-21, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:12:y:2024:i:8:p:221-:d:1461995
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/8/221/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/8/221/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Phillips, P.C.B., 1986. "Understanding spurious regressions in econometrics," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 311-340, December.
    2. Phillips, P C B, 1987. "Time Series Regression with a Unit Root," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 55(2), pages 277-301, March.
    3. Robert Engle & Clive Granger, 2015. "Co-integration and error correction: Representation, estimation, and testing," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 39(3), pages 106-135.
    4. Engle, Robert F. & Yoo, Byung Sam, 1987. "Forecasting and testing in co-integrated systems," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 143-159, May.
    5. Tong, Tingting & Yu, Edward & Roberts, Roland K., 2014. "Dynamics of Transport Infrastructure, Exports and Economic Growth in the United States," Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, Transportation Research Forum, vol. 53(01).
    6. Phillips, Peter C B & Ouliaris, S, 1990. "Asymptotic Properties of Residual Based Tests for Cointegration," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(1), pages 165-193, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Campos, Julia & Ericsson, Neil R. & Hendry, David F., 1996. "Cointegration tests in the presence of structural breaks," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 187-220, January.
    2. Norah Al-Ballaa, 2005. "Test for cointegration based on two-stage least squares," Journal of Applied Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(7), pages 707-713.
    3. Baffes, John & Gohou, Gaston, 2005. "The co-movement between cotton and polyester prices," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3534, The World Bank.
    4. Christopher P. P. Shafuda & Utpal Kumar De, 2020. "Government expenditure on human capital and growth in Namibia: a time series analysis," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 9(1), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Noel D. Uri, 1998. "The Impact of Energy on the Adoption of Conservation Tillage in the United States," Energy & Environment, , vol. 9(5), pages 549-568, August.
    6. Leon Shilton, 2000. "Random Walks and the Cointegration of the ACLI and NCREIF," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 28(3), pages 435-465.
    7. Noel D. Uri, 1996. "The Impact of Crude Oil Price Volatility on Agricultural Employment in the United States," Energy & Environment, , vol. 7(1), pages 57-74, February.
    8. Bierens, H.J., 1995. "Nonparametric cointegration analysis," Other publications TiSEM aa45c4fa-ef46-43a6-b14e-b, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    9. Peter C. B. Phillips & Zhijie Xiao, 1998. "A Primer on Unit Root Testing," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(5), pages 423-470, December.
    10. MacKinnon, James G, 1994. "Approximate Asymptotic Distribution Functions for Unit-Root and Cointegration Tests," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 12(2), pages 167-176, April.
    11. Franses,Philip Hans & Dijk,Dick van & Opschoor,Anne, 2014. "Time Series Models for Business and Economic Forecasting," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521817707, August.
    12. Bierens, Herman J., 1997. "Nonparametric cointegration analysis," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2), pages 379-404, April.
    13. Raj Aggarwal & Brian M. Lucey & Sunil K. Mohanty, 2006. "The Forward Exchange Rate Bias Puzzle: Evidence from New Cointegration Tests," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp123, IIIS.
    14. Gabriel Rodriguez & Pierre Perron, 2013. "Single-equation tests for Cointegration with GLS Detrended Data," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 2013-016, Boston University - Department of Economics.
    15. Antonio Montanés & Marcos Sanso-Navarro, "undated". "Another look at long-horizon uncovered interest parity," Studies on the Spanish Economy 221, FEDEA.
    16. P. P. Shafuda, Christopher & De, Utpal Kumar, 2017. "Upshot of Public Health Expenditure on Economic Development," MPRA Paper 101846, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 03 Jan 2018.
    17. Noor Ghazali & Shamshubariah Ramlee, 2003. "A long memory test of the long-run Fisher effect in the G7 countries," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(10), pages 763-769.
    18. Francesca Iorio & Stefano Fachin, 2014. "Savings and investments in the OECD: a panel cointegration study with a new bootstrap test," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 1271-1300, June.
    19. Neil R. Ericsson, 2021. "Dynamic Econometrics in Action: A Biography of David F. Hendry," International Finance Discussion Papers 1311, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    20. Pierre Perron & Gabriel Rodríguez, "undated". "Residuals-based Tests for Cointegration with GLS Detrended Data," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series wp2015-017, Boston University - Department of Economics, revised 19 Oct 2015.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:12:y:2024:i:8:p:221-:d:1461995. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.