Road investment planning in Norway is officially based on cost-benefit analyses, but the results of such analyses have been shown to have little impact on policy. This paper analyses the distribution of state investment funds for national roads between counties in Norway, trying to find a rational choice explanation of the departure of road investment policy from cost-benefit considerations. Three models are proposed to explain the distribution of investment funds between counties: (1) the highway sufficiency rating model, (2) the net economic benefit model and (3) the vote trading model. Analyses for 1990-93 and 1994-97 investment planning terms support the highway sufficiency rating model and the vote trading model. The net economic benefit model is not supported. The highway sufficiency rating model and the vote trading model are highly correlated, making their relative explanatory contributions impossible to identify. (Author/Publisher)
Abstract