Wider economic benefits are increasingly being estimated in economic assessments of infrastructure projects. Show host Gene Tunny and his colleague Arturo Espinoza Bocangel chat about how some infrastructure projects, particularly transport projects, can stimulate new economic development, increasing the density of businesses and workers in an area. This can boost innovation and productivity through knowledge transfer and greater specialisation, among other mechanisms. The expected wider economic benefits of the Cross River Rail subway project in Brisbane, Australia are discussed. 

Links relevant to the conversation

Cross River Rail business case

Cross River Rail project benefits

Knowledge Spillovers: - Cities' Role in the New Economy - article by Jerry Carlino Gene quotes from in the episode

The wider economic benefits of transport infrastructure paper by Peter Abelson 

Working from home: Too much of a good thing - article by Kristian Behrens and others

Wider Economic Benefits of Transport Corridors : Evidence from International Development Organizations - World Bank paper using night time lights data

Clarification

In the episode Gene didn’t get the title of Jane Jacobs’s famous book on cities right. The correct title is The Death and Life of Great American Cities. 

Thanks to the show’s audio engineer Josh Crotts for his assistance in producing the episode. 

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