Efficient allocation of resources is of paramount importance in building reliable and efficient transportation systems. This is particularly true because of the key role that transportation plays in the economic development of any region. Despite continuing efforts by economists, planners, and transportation system analysts to determine the relationship between transportation investment and economic development, the correlation is yet to be understood clearly. One of the most intriguing matters is the time lag between the two. Transportation investments have a complex, dynamic influence on economic systems. They generate both direct and indirect benefits, and they have short-term effects such as an increase in construction-related employment and an increase in markets for local goods and services, as well as longer-term effects such as the establishment of new industries that are attracted by increased access to local goods and services. The time lag between transportation investment and economic return significantly affects how the benefits of an investment are evaluated. This paper examines a framework for evaluation based on the data envelopment analysis technique that captures the dynamic relationship between transportation investment and economic development. In the analysis performed, a strong correlation was observed between the relative scarcity of transportation infrastructure, as compared with other input parameters in the production process, and a lag time between investment and the materialization of economic return. Short-, medium-, and long-term time lags were analyzed in the study, and it is suggested that current demand for increased accessibility is correlated with the dynamic characteristics of time lag with spatial variation.
Abstract