Title: TRANSPORTATION ECONOMICS OF HIGHWAY-DEVELOPMENT POLICIES
Abstract: THIS PAPER DEALS WITH TWO RELATED QUESTIONS OF INTEREST TO TRANSPORTATION ECONOMISTS: (1) ARE POLICIES DEALING WITH THE ALLOCATION AND USE OF HIGHWAY FUNDS CONSISTENT WITH THE STANDARD OF MINIMIZING HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION COSTS? (2) ARE HIGHWAY-DEVELOPMENT POLICIES DESIGNED TO MINIMIZE HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION COSTS CONSISTENT WITH THE BROADER ECONOMIC OBJECTIVES OF PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ADEQUATE AND EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY? AN IDEAL USE OF HIGHWAY FUNDS FROM THE STANDPOINT OF TRANSPORTATION ECONOMICS IS TO INVEST THEM EFFICIENTLY, I.E., IN SUCH A WAY AS TO MINIMIZE HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION COSTS. BUT WHEN TRAFFIC FLOWS ARE A FUNCTION OF ROAD IMPROVEMENT, HIGHWAY-INVESTMENT POLICIES DESIGNED TO MINIMIZE TRANSPORTATION COSTS MAY PRODUCE ANOMALIES WHICH WOULD TEND TO DISCREDIT THE MINIMIZATION OF THESE COSTS AS A BASIC PRINCIPLE OF INVESTMENT POLICY. THE COMPLICATIONS CREATED FOR EFFECTIVE PLANNING BY ERRATIC CHANGES IN TRAFFIC FLOWS POSE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN INCREASING EFFICIENCY IN INVESTMENT. THESE PROBLEMS ARE NOT LIKELY TO BE RESOLVED WITHOUT BROADENING THE SCOPE OF PLANNING SURVEYS TO EMBRACE TRAFFIC FLOWS OVER OTHER TYPES OF TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS. /AUTHOR/
Publication Year: 1954
Publication Date: 1954-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 1
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