Infrastructure, specialization, and economic growth
Ημερομηνία
2000Source
Canadian Journal of EconomicsVolume
33Pages
506-522Google Scholar check
Metadata
Εμφάνιση πλήρους εγγραφήςΕπιτομή
We introduce infrastructure as a cost-reducing technology in Romer's (1987) model of endogenous growth. We show that infrastructure can promote specialization and long-run growth, even though its effect on the latter is non-monotonic, reflecting its resource costs. We provide evidence using data from the U.S. Census of Manufactures that suggests that the degree of specialization is positively correlated with core infrastructure, as predicted by the model. We also provide evidence from cross-country regressions, using physical measures of infrastructure provision, that shows a robust non-monotonic relationship between infrastructure and growth. © Canadian Economics Association.