IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/wbrwps/10156.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Overland Transport Costs : A Review

Author

Listed:
  • Cosar,Ahmet Kerem

Abstract

Poor infrastructure and high domestic shipping costs are often cited as important impediments toeconomic activity in developing countries. Domestic shipping being mostly overland, understanding the level and structureof costs in road freight transportation could thus help formulate policies that aim to lower them. This reviewprovides a summary of overland transport cost estimates with a focus on trucking, the dominant mode of domestic freight.By describing conceptual issues, highlighting sources of data and alternative methodologies with their key findings,it is intended to help practitioners and researchers navigate the literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Cosar,Ahmet Kerem, 2022. "Overland Transport Costs : A Review," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10156, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10156
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099855408302242173/pdf/IDU0c0230011005fe044480894807cc2e307a766.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. A. Kerem Cosar & Banu Demir Pakel & Devaki Ghose & Nathaniel Young, 2021. "Road Capacity, Domestic Trade and Regional Outcomes," CESifo Working Paper Series 9310, CESifo.
    2. Dave Donaldson, 2018. "Railroads of the Raj: Estimating the Impact of Transportation Infrastructure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(4-5), pages 899-934, April.
    3. Redding, Stephen J. & Turner, Matthew A., 2015. "Transportation Costs and the Spatial Organization of Economic Activity," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1339-1398, Elsevier.
    4. Engel, Charles & Rogers, John H, 1996. "How Wide Is the Border?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(5), pages 1112-1125, December.
    5. Fernando Borraz & Alberto Cavallo & Roberto Rigobon & Leandro Zipitria, 2016. "Distance and Political Boundaries: Estimating Border Effects under Inequality Constraints," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(1), pages 3-35, January.
    6. Keith Head & Thierry Mayer, 2013. "What separates us? Sources of resistance to globalization," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 46(4), pages 1196-1231, November.
    7. Van Leemput, Eva, 2021. "A passage to India: Quantifying internal and external barriers to trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    8. Volpe Martincus, Christian & Blyde, Juan, 2013. "Shaky roads and trembling exports: Assessing the trade effects of domestic infrastructure using a natural experiment," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 148-161.
    9. Jose Asturias & Manuel García-Santana & Roberto Ramos, 2019. "Competition and the Welfare Gains from Transportation Infrastructure: Evidence from the Golden Quadrilateral of India," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(6), pages 1881-1940.
    10. Treb Allen & Costas Arkolakis, 2014. "Trade and the Topography of the Spatial Economy," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(3), pages 1085-1140.
    11. Cletus C. Coughlin & Dennis Novy, 2021. "Estimating Border Effects: The Impact Of Spatial Aggregation," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 62(4), pages 1453-1487, November.
    12. Pierre-Philippe Combes & Miren Lafourcade, 2005. "Transport costs: measures, determinants, and regional policy implications for France," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(3), pages 319-349, June.
    13. Alfonso Irarrazabal & Andreas Moxnes & Luca David Opromolla, 2015. "The Tip of the Iceberg: A Quantitative Framework for Estimating Trade Costs," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(4), pages 777-792, October.
    14. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/443fbihfmj8h58a4ceedn30ogb is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Hernández, Carlos Eduardo, 2021. "Waits and Delays in Road Freight Transport," Research Department working papers 1724, CAF Development Bank Of Latinamerica.
    16. Obie Porteous, 2019. "High Trade Costs and Their Consequences: An Estimated Dynamic Model of African Agricultural Storage and Trade," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 327-366, October.
    17. Gilles Duranton & Peter M. Morrow & Matthew A. Turner, 2014. "Roads and Trade: Evidence from the US," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 81(2), pages 681-724.
    18. Claudia N. Berg & Uwe Deichmann & Yishen Liu & Harris Selod, 2017. "Transport Policies and Development," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(4), pages 465-480, April.
    19. José Holguín-Veras & Gopal Patil, 2008. "A Multicommodity Integrated Freight Origin–destination Synthesis Model," Networks and Spatial Economics, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 309-326, September.
    20. Mark Roberts & Martin Melecky & Théophile Bougna & Yan (Sarah) Xu, 2020. "Transport corridors and their wider economic benefits: A quantitative review of the literature," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(2), pages 207-248, March.
    21. Banerjee, Abhijit & Duflo, Esther & Qian, Nancy, 2020. "On the road: Access to transportation infrastructure and economic growth in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    22. Bonfatti, Roberto & Poelhekke, Steven, 2017. "From mine to coast: Transport infrastructure and the direction of trade in developing countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 91-108.
    23. Theresa Osborne & Maria Claudia Pachon & Gonzalo Enrique Araya, 2013. "What Drives the High Price of Road Freight Transport in Central America?," World Bank Publications - Reports 17845, The World Bank Group.
    24. James E. Anderson & Eric van Wincoop, 2003. "Gravity with Gravitas: A Solution to the Border Puzzle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 170-192, March.
    25. Giulia Brancaccio & Myrto Kalouptsidi & Theodore Papageorgiou, 2020. "Geography, Transportation, and Endogenous Trade Costs," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(2), pages 657-691, March.
    26. Coşar, A. Kerem & Demir, Banu, 2016. "Domestic road infrastructure and international trade: Evidence from Turkey," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 232-244.
    27. Kristian Behrens & W. Mark Brown & Théophile Bougna, 2018. "The World Is Not Yet Flat: Transport Costs Matter!," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(4), pages 712-724, October.
    28. Coşar, A. Kerem & Grieco, Paul L.E. & Tintelnot, Felix, 2015. "Bias in estimating border- and distance-related trade costs: Insights from an oligopoly model," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 147-149.
    29. Keith Head & Thierry Mayer, 2013. "Innis Lecture: What separates us? Sources of resistance to globalization," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(4), pages 1196-1231, November.
    30. Wilson, Wesley W., 1987. "Transport Markets and Firm Behavior: The Backhaul Problem," Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, Transportation Research Forum, vol. 28(1).
    31. David Hummels & Alexandre Skiba, 2004. "Shipping the Good Apples Out? An Empirical Confirmation of the Alchian-Allen Conjecture," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(6), pages 1384-1402, December.
    32. Alberto Cavallo & Roberto Rigobon, 2016. "The Billion Prices Project: Using Online Prices for Measurement and Research," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(2), pages 151-178, Spring.
    33. Duranton, Gilles, 2015. "Roads and trade in Colombia," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 16-36.
    34. Woan Foong Wong, 2022. "The Round Trip Effect: Endogenous Transport Costs and International Trade," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 127-166, October.
    35. Keith Head & Thierry Mayer, 2013. "What separates us? Sources of resistance to globalization," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 46(4), pages 1196-1231, November.
    36. Supee Teravaninthorn & Gaël Raballand, 2009. "Transport Prices and Costs in Africa : A Review of the International Corridors," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6610.
    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. Pablo D. Fajgelbaum & Edouard Schaal, 2020. "Optimal Transport Networks in Spatial Equilibrium," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(4), pages 1411-1452, July.
    2. Felbermayr, Gabriel J. & Tarasov, Alexander, 2022. "Trade and the spatial distribution of transport infrastructure," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    3. Dan Liu & Liugang Sheng & Miaojie Yu, 2023. "Highways and firms' exports: Evidence from China," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 413-443, May.
    4. Mark Roberts & Martin Melecky & Théophile Bougna & Yan (Sarah) Xu, 2020. "Transport corridors and their wider economic benefits: A quantitative review of the literature," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(2), pages 207-248, March.
    5. Jason Query, 2020. "Differing trade elasticities for intra‐ and international distances: A gravity approach," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 913-929, August.
    6. Branco, Catarina & Dohse, Dirk C. & Pereira dos Santos, João & Tavares, José, 2023. "Nobody’s gonna slow me down? The effects of a transportation cost shock on firm performance and behavior," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    7. Redding, Stephen, 2020. "Trade and Geography," CEPR Discussion Papers 15268, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. Coşar, A. Kerem & Demir, Banu, 2018. "Shipping inside the box: Containerization and trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 331-345.
    9. Fabien Candau & Elisa Dienesch, 2015. "Spatial distribution of skills and regional trade integration," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 54(2), pages 451-488, March.
    10. Santamaria, Marta, 2020. "Reshaping Infrastructure: Evidence from the division of Germany," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1244, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    11. Brian Blankespoor & M Shahe Emran & Forhad Shilpi & Lu Xu, 2022. "Bridge to bigpush or backwash? Market integration, reallocation and productivity effects of Jamuna Bridge in Bangladesh [Agricultural technology choice and transport]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(4), pages 853-871.
    12. Stef Proost & Jacques-François Thisse, 2019. "What Can Be Learned from Spatial Economics?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 57(3), pages 575-643, September.
    13. Wu, Mingqin & Yu, Linhui & Zhang, Junsen, 2023. "Road expansion, allocative efficiency, and pro-competitive effect of transport infrastructure: Evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    14. Christian Darko & Giovanni Occhiali & Enrico Vanino, 2021. "The Chinese are Here: Import Penetration and Firm Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(12), pages 2112-2135, December.
    15. Santamaria, Marta, 2020. "Reshaping Infrastructure : Evidence from the division of Germany," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 456, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    16. Darko, Christian K. & Occhiali, Giovanni & Vanino, Enrico, 2018. "The Chinese are Here: Firm Level Analysis of Import Competition and Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa," ETA: Economic Theory and Applications 273142, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    17. Bottasso, Anna & Conti, Maurizio & Santagata, Marta, 2022. "Transport Infrastructure and Trade: A Survey of the Empirical Literature," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 75(4), pages 447-464.
    18. Roberts,Mark & Melecky,Martin & Bougna,Theophile & Xu,Yan-000462055, 2018. "Transport corridors and their wider economic benefits : a critical review of the literature," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8302, The World Bank.
    19. Dongxiao Niu & Weizeng Sun & Siqi Zheng, 2020. "Travel costs, trade, and market segmentation: Evidence from China's high‐speed railway," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(6), pages 1799-1825, December.
    20. Das, Abhiman & Ghani, Ejaz & Grover, Arti & Kerr, William & Nanda, Ramana, 2024. "JUE insight: Infrastructure and Finance: Evidence from India’s GQ highway network," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:wbk:wbrwps:10156. 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: Roula I. Yazigi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dvewbus.html .

    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.