- Commitments to sustainable, safe, and affordable transportation for development should be prioritized.
- Partnerships and knowledge sharing will be key to fostering the best results in ECA. This includes collaboration between local and state governments and international agencies.
- That concludes the paper, which is okay in parts but mostly feels like beating a dead horse. Maybe it’s just because it’s Thursday that I feel this way.
Full Report
Showing posts with label transportation planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transportation planning. Show all posts
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Confronting “Death on Wheels” // Chapter 8 : The Task Ahead: Operationalizing an Effective Response in ECA
Confronting “Death on Wheels” // Chapter 7: Priorities for Intersectoral Work on Road Safety in ECA
- This chapter addresses the question of how to implement the 2004 World Bank Report on road safety. Mostly recommends a lead agency, international cooperation, more human and physical resources, and more money. There are some more details for how this can happen according to the recommendation.
- Increased seatbelt use and increased awareness of young drivers and pedestrians can help decrease a significant amount of fatal accidents.
- Demonstration projects should be designed in order to help support these types of projects and to provide benchmarks.
Full Report
- Increased seatbelt use and increased awareness of young drivers and pedestrians can help decrease a significant amount of fatal accidents.
- Demonstration projects should be designed in order to help support these types of projects and to provide benchmarks.
Full Report
Confronting “Death on Wheels” // Chapter 6: World Bank Support for Road Safety Improvements in ECA and in Other Regions
- There are a decent amount of transportation and infrastructure projects that are being funded by the World Bank in the ECA. These are mostly geared toward road safety solutions such as repaving and extensions.
- Transparency of the grantee government comes into question frequently with these funds. More oversight is needed and more regulation.
Better data collection is needed; this can be done with betting monitoring and oversight, but requires financial resources and coordination of state and local agencies within the nation.
- A culture of road and pedestrian safety should be fostered in the nations. Target drunk driving, build safer roads, and support safe use of transportation infrastructure.
Full Report
- Transparency of the grantee government comes into question frequently with these funds. More oversight is needed and more regulation.
Better data collection is needed; this can be done with betting monitoring and oversight, but requires financial resources and coordination of state and local agencies within the nation.
- A culture of road and pedestrian safety should be fostered in the nations. Target drunk driving, build safer roads, and support safe use of transportation infrastructure.
Full Report
Confronting “Death on Wheels” // Chapter 5: Road Safety Approaches and Policies
- More investment and policy should be put towards road safety and prevention of accidents. Being able to build safe roads and promote legislation that allows for laws and enforcement are some of the best ways to increase safety.
- This chapter talks about the different organizations and groups that deal with this issue, and about institutional arrangements at the country level.
Full Report
- This chapter talks about the different organizations and groups that deal with this issue, and about institutional arrangements at the country level.
Full Report
Confronting “Death on Wheels” // Chapter 4: The Role of Health Systems in Preventing RTIs and Helping Victims
- A good health system can help reduce fatal accidents.
- The data available on road accidents is incomplete and under reported.
** I don’t really know why they included this chapter. Obviously the intent of a solid primary care system is to reduce fatalities and disabilities. There’s some recommendations, but this is really a health care policy discussion which is intertwined with roads, but can be separate and apart.
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- The data available on road accidents is incomplete and under reported.
** I don’t really know why they included this chapter. Obviously the intent of a solid primary care system is to reduce fatalities and disabilities. There’s some recommendations, but this is really a health care policy discussion which is intertwined with roads, but can be separate and apart.
Full Report
Confronting “Death on Wheels” // Chapter 3: Interventions and Results: What is the Evidence?
- Good road/intersection design, signage and safety features such as passing lanes are used frequently in high income nations and should be used more in developing countries.
- Seatbelts and other vehicle design requirements are a good way to reduce fatal injuries (average 11% according to the report).
- Education and legislation are only effective if enforced correctly and
consistently. Drunk driving is also apparently a huge issue. A few pages in the chapter read like they’re written by MADD. Side note, they are the reason that the legal drinking age in the US is 21. In order for states to get their federal highway funding, MADD lobbied that they had to increase the age to 21. Great reason for a law, right? More Information.
- Russia has been trying to deal with the issue of road safety however their infrastructure is decaying and is a large obstacle to road safety improvement.
Full Report
- Seatbelts and other vehicle design requirements are a good way to reduce fatal injuries (average 11% according to the report).
- Education and legislation are only effective if enforced correctly and
consistently. Drunk driving is also apparently a huge issue. A few pages in the chapter read like they’re written by MADD. Side note, they are the reason that the legal drinking age in the US is 21. In order for states to get their federal highway funding, MADD lobbied that they had to increase the age to 21. Great reason for a law, right? More Information.
- Russia has been trying to deal with the issue of road safety however their infrastructure is decaying and is a large obstacle to road safety improvement.
Full Report
Monday, November 30, 2009
Confronting “Death on Wheels”: Making Roads Safe in Europe and Central Asia
This World Bank report is focused on how to improve road safety in the CIS and other developing regions. It is essentially a reminder for a 2004 report by a similar title that came to the conclusion that more funding was needed to improve infrastructure and vehicle and operator regulations. The following posts on this will be the usual chapter breakdowns that have been done for prior reports:
Chapter 1: Introduction
- Transportation sector is highly impacted by spending and decisions of most of the other sectors, especially in terms of planning and zoning.
- Road and noise pollution are serious environmental impacts and contribute to the high external cost of car transportation.
- Road Traffic Injuries (RTI)’s are defined in the report as any death occurring due to a traffic incident within 30 days. There is an increasing risk for RTI’s in developing nations due to a lack of regulation and continual funding infrastructure capacity/maintenance.
- Road safety should be an integral piece in transportation policy, which also includes pedestrian alternatives to car transportation.
- “The Commission for Global Road Safety (200) also notes that while the primary rationale for investing more than US$4 billion each year in road infrastructure is to improve road transport efficiency to spur economic growth, the risk and magnitude of increased societal costs associated with rising RTIs is often overlooked”
- This report was primarily written for an internal audience and to raise awareness of how other sectors can influence transportation.
report link
Chapter 1: Introduction
- Transportation sector is highly impacted by spending and decisions of most of the other sectors, especially in terms of planning and zoning.
- Road and noise pollution are serious environmental impacts and contribute to the high external cost of car transportation.
- Road Traffic Injuries (RTI)’s are defined in the report as any death occurring due to a traffic incident within 30 days. There is an increasing risk for RTI’s in developing nations due to a lack of regulation and continual funding infrastructure capacity/maintenance.
- Road safety should be an integral piece in transportation policy, which also includes pedestrian alternatives to car transportation.
- “The Commission for Global Road Safety (200) also notes that while the primary rationale for investing more than US$4 billion each year in road infrastructure is to improve road transport efficiency to spur economic growth, the risk and magnitude of increased societal costs associated with rising RTIs is often overlooked”
- This report was primarily written for an internal audience and to raise awareness of how other sectors can influence transportation.
report link
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Post Cold War: World Bank and CIS
The creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on December 21, 1991, was tasked with the burden of carrying on the reforms started by Gorbachev under the SovietUnion. The political and social pressures that were facing these new states were also coupled with the economic disaster under transition governments and economies. In order to create stability in the region, “the task of restructuring and reconstructing Eastern Europe [after the collapse of the Soviet Union] was taken up by private investors, by Western governments (in bilateral-assistance projects and some debt relief), and through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)” (Grieve 1992-1993). After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the World Bank and the IMF also turned their interest to the newly forming states and the rest of the developing world. Many of the loans provided by the World Bank and IMF provided assistance for economic and political liberalization, and the funding of social and transportation infrastructure projects.
Specifically for transportation planning, the discussion after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the “profound changes in economic and spatial policy have brought about a re-orientation in transportation with a clear focus on supply-driven mechanisms, in which the crucial role of the public sector is increasingly no longer taken for granted” (Nijkamp et al 1995). Although the World Bank does not financially support infrastructure projects at the level it did during the 1950s and 60s, the fiscal allocation for transportation projects in 2007 was 20% of the budget, with an additional 12% marked for water, sanitation, and flood protection. Regionally, 15% of the funds went to Europe and Central Asia. (World Bank 2009: Our Focus) According to the project documents available on the World Bank website, all CIS nations are receiving or have recently received project financing for transportation projects including financing for a highway in Azerbaijan and infrastructure retrofitting in Belarus. The World Bank has also put more focus into obtaining the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals, which calls for the elimination of extreme poverty by 2015 as well as universal education, lowering infant mortality rates, gender equality, maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability and forging global partnerships. (UN 2009: Millennium Goals) The World Bank works most closely with the first half of the goals, which are related to development and the availability of social services. The ability for citizens to reach schools and health clinics is paramount in order for the development goals of poverty reduction and health to be truly achieved with sustainable results.
Specifically for transportation planning, the discussion after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the “profound changes in economic and spatial policy have brought about a re-orientation in transportation with a clear focus on supply-driven mechanisms, in which the crucial role of the public sector is increasingly no longer taken for granted” (Nijkamp et al 1995). Although the World Bank does not financially support infrastructure projects at the level it did during the 1950s and 60s, the fiscal allocation for transportation projects in 2007 was 20% of the budget, with an additional 12% marked for water, sanitation, and flood protection. Regionally, 15% of the funds went to Europe and Central Asia. (World Bank 2009: Our Focus) According to the project documents available on the World Bank website, all CIS nations are receiving or have recently received project financing for transportation projects including financing for a highway in Azerbaijan and infrastructure retrofitting in Belarus. The World Bank has also put more focus into obtaining the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals, which calls for the elimination of extreme poverty by 2015 as well as universal education, lowering infant mortality rates, gender equality, maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability and forging global partnerships. (UN 2009: Millennium Goals) The World Bank works most closely with the first half of the goals, which are related to development and the availability of social services. The ability for citizens to reach schools and health clinics is paramount in order for the development goals of poverty reduction and health to be truly achieved with sustainable results.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
How Effective is Transportation Infrastructure? A Literature Review
Although few studies have been done on the impact of infrastructure development in transition economics and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), many studies have been conducted to examine the cost-benefit relationships of building new roads, as well as the development of these networks within other transition economies. Studies have generally shown that there is a positive relationship between transit infrastructure and economic growth, as well as that infrastructure capital “increased industry and national productivity in the United States” (Aghion and Schankerman 1999: 82). The first of the studies being reviewed for the purposes of this paper is Philippe Aghion and Mark Schankerman’s article “Competition, entry and the social returns to infrastructure in transition economies”. The main argument of their study is that “the potential for developing competitive markets in transition economics has been inhibited by the inadequacy of both the institutional and physical infrastructure” (Aghion and Schankerman 1999). The authors continue to suggest that in order to assist success in transition economies that governments and multi-lateral aid agencies need to find a way to quantifiable measure the social returns from infrastructure projects and how these factors influence economic performance.
Although Aghion and Schankerman’s study also provides insight to the lack of development of government and telecommunications infrastructure in transition economies, their study centers on if and how transportation infrastructure helps promote market competition. Their paper finds that “indirect effects of infrastructure investment depend on features of the economic environment, including the number of firms in the market (initial density), the degree of cost asymmetry, the proportion of high cost firms, and the initial level of competition (or transaction costs)” (Aghion and Schankerman 1999: 98). Most of the demand for infrastructure, according to the authors, depends on the political economy, which has serious implications for the transition economies and governments of the CIS. If the political economy is one of the most important factors in the success of development from the building of infrastructure, than the historical evidence would seem to suggest that the more liberal the nation, the more successful transport infrastructure will be in facilitating economic and social growth.
Aghion and Schankerman’s model includes measures for government and telecommunications infrastructure as well as transportation. Overall their study shows that there is a relationship between developing infrastructure and economic growth and political liberalization. What is unclear is the distribution of winners and losers that the authors reference in terms of low-cost and high-cost firms. The authors also suggest that the research they created should be followed with a more in-depth analysis of political economy and how that essentially impacts the effectiveness of infrastructure in economic development.
Feinberg and Meurs’s paper “Market Report, Infrastructure and Exchange Rate Passthrough in Central and Eastern Europe” provides an alternative to Aghion and Schankerman’s argument that “physical infrastructure is crucial for competitive market development” (Feinger and Meurs 2005: 23). Feinber and Meurs found the infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) inferior to the needs of the nations. They also point out that the World Bank and other international agencies have made infrastructure development a priority for project lending, but that the economic failures of the states that received many of these loans left the infrastructure in disrepair or insufficient for growth. (Feinberg and Meurs 2005)
In this study, Feinberg and Meurs analyze “13 broad industry sectors for the years 1991-200 for Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia with data…and (6) an index (constructed by the authors) of physical infrastructure in the five countries” (Feingber and Meurs 2005: 24). The results of the paper finds the impacts of physical infrastructure unclear but that “market reforms (improving the legal/institutional infrastructure) in Central and Eastern Europe have had the desired effect of increasing the integration of these countries’ economies into the global economic system, with gains in the competitiveness of domestic markets” (Feinberg and Meurs 2005: 29). Although the relationship between economic growth and the development of physical infrastructure was unclear, the data does suggest that the improvement of physical infrastructure may increase economic growth and capital movement. The authors of the study expected a stronger impact from infrastructure on economic development than what was shown in their results. Although the nation data used in the Feinberg and Meurs study does not include any member of the CIS, the shared history and economic performance of Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS is reasonable. Both studies discussed thus far have found some relationship between infrastructure and economic development. What is interesting is that both authors also account for other types of infrastructure, specifically in terms of government and social programs.
The final component to the literature review is a book by Rietveld and Bruinsma, Is Transport Infrastructure Effective?. The authors take a more economic and urban planning approach to the question, whereas the previous two articles were predominantly social science and economics oriented. Rietveld and Bruinsma discuss infrastructure as it relates to public funding and the impact of it on the delivery of social and economic goods. The financing of infrastructure, according to the authors tends to alternate between public and private financing, depending on the policies in vogue at the time. Overall, however, there has been a decline of funding from the public sector in the last twenty years, the authors cite many causes that may have influenced government spending, specifically the “changing opions about the role of the state in the economy and the society as a whole” in the 1980s (Rietvel and Bruinsma 1998). The authors also suggest the approach taken by Grubler and Nakiconovic in 1991, who found that there was a life-cycle to the funding of infrastructure by the public sector, in which the overlap became increasing smaller between the two. The cycles would include the canal cycle in the beginning of the 19th century, the railway cycle in the first half of the 19th century, the 20th century cycle of road and the current or to be occurring cycle of aviation and telecommunications. (Rietveld and Bruinsma) Although public funding for infrastructure types has seemed to pull away, a simple explanation seems to be that the initial costs and energy required to initially plan, develop, and build the infrastructure are highest and the residual maintenance of these projects makes the state seem less involved in infrastructure as a whole. In some cases, such as in Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the privatization of rail has also shifted the need for public capital for maintenance into private companies who run freight and passenger rail.
Rietveld and Bruinsma also discuss the issue of accessibility, specifically the ease of use, and the effectiveness of infrastructure. The authors do a fair job compiling other studies that have operationalized these concepts and proceed into a discussion of calculating transport costs. They argue, much like the previous two articles, “transport infrastructure investment lead to changes in generalized transport costs via shorter distances or higher speeds, which give rise to reductions in fuel, capital and labour costs” (Rietveld and Bruinsma 1998: 47). This decrease in transportation costs would, in theory, increase productivity, which will in turn lead to growth of gross domestic product (GDP). Development of infrastructure, specifically accessible and well-planned infrastructure can also positively impact property value, which is also a facilitator of investment and growth in developing and developed nations. For Rietveld and Bruinsma the “inequalities in accessibility are least pronounced in the road network…[however] in the rail network inequalities are clearly higher” (Reitveld and Bruinsma 1998: 139). The better accessibility for road networks are partially due to the actual cost of roads versus rail and also due to the ease of expanding and adding onto existing road networks, whereas expansion and changes in rail and create more problems and cost more. Also roads are more likely to be used for both economic and personal travel, whereas the differences between passenger and industrial rail are more challenging due to the different gauges in rail lines, locomotives, and the planning process differences between industrial and passenger rail.
While plans for roads that serve industrial and residential areas might differ in the amount of capacity and how the network as a whole will react to the new road or linkage, traffic planning models are widely used internationally by Western governments to determine how many lanes are necessary and where connections should be made based on user demand. Rail is harder to determine demand since passenger rail and industrial rail require specialized trains that are able to adapt to the different types of lines, and set schedules are not always able to meet demand, and sometimes can actually run at a higher cost since a train without product or passengers following the schedule might be necessary in order to make the next connection. The remainder of the book delves into comparisons of European accessibility studies, corridor development, and some case studies. With the varying opinions on how to determine and measure accessibility, the author’s comparison is useful and shows that for a most part population, type of transit infrastructure, and usage rates are standard in determining this factor. As a whole, the authors are advocating for the building of road networks, and they show a compelling link between positive influx of GDP due to the development of infrastructure.
Although Aghion and Schankerman’s study also provides insight to the lack of development of government and telecommunications infrastructure in transition economies, their study centers on if and how transportation infrastructure helps promote market competition. Their paper finds that “indirect effects of infrastructure investment depend on features of the economic environment, including the number of firms in the market (initial density), the degree of cost asymmetry, the proportion of high cost firms, and the initial level of competition (or transaction costs)” (Aghion and Schankerman 1999: 98). Most of the demand for infrastructure, according to the authors, depends on the political economy, which has serious implications for the transition economies and governments of the CIS. If the political economy is one of the most important factors in the success of development from the building of infrastructure, than the historical evidence would seem to suggest that the more liberal the nation, the more successful transport infrastructure will be in facilitating economic and social growth.
Aghion and Schankerman’s model includes measures for government and telecommunications infrastructure as well as transportation. Overall their study shows that there is a relationship between developing infrastructure and economic growth and political liberalization. What is unclear is the distribution of winners and losers that the authors reference in terms of low-cost and high-cost firms. The authors also suggest that the research they created should be followed with a more in-depth analysis of political economy and how that essentially impacts the effectiveness of infrastructure in economic development.
Feinberg and Meurs’s paper “Market Report, Infrastructure and Exchange Rate Passthrough in Central and Eastern Europe” provides an alternative to Aghion and Schankerman’s argument that “physical infrastructure is crucial for competitive market development” (Feinger and Meurs 2005: 23). Feinber and Meurs found the infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) inferior to the needs of the nations. They also point out that the World Bank and other international agencies have made infrastructure development a priority for project lending, but that the economic failures of the states that received many of these loans left the infrastructure in disrepair or insufficient for growth. (Feinberg and Meurs 2005)
In this study, Feinberg and Meurs analyze “13 broad industry sectors for the years 1991-200 for Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia with data…and (6) an index (constructed by the authors) of physical infrastructure in the five countries” (Feingber and Meurs 2005: 24). The results of the paper finds the impacts of physical infrastructure unclear but that “market reforms (improving the legal/institutional infrastructure) in Central and Eastern Europe have had the desired effect of increasing the integration of these countries’ economies into the global economic system, with gains in the competitiveness of domestic markets” (Feinberg and Meurs 2005: 29). Although the relationship between economic growth and the development of physical infrastructure was unclear, the data does suggest that the improvement of physical infrastructure may increase economic growth and capital movement. The authors of the study expected a stronger impact from infrastructure on economic development than what was shown in their results. Although the nation data used in the Feinberg and Meurs study does not include any member of the CIS, the shared history and economic performance of Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS is reasonable. Both studies discussed thus far have found some relationship between infrastructure and economic development. What is interesting is that both authors also account for other types of infrastructure, specifically in terms of government and social programs.
The final component to the literature review is a book by Rietveld and Bruinsma, Is Transport Infrastructure Effective?. The authors take a more economic and urban planning approach to the question, whereas the previous two articles were predominantly social science and economics oriented. Rietveld and Bruinsma discuss infrastructure as it relates to public funding and the impact of it on the delivery of social and economic goods. The financing of infrastructure, according to the authors tends to alternate between public and private financing, depending on the policies in vogue at the time. Overall, however, there has been a decline of funding from the public sector in the last twenty years, the authors cite many causes that may have influenced government spending, specifically the “changing opions about the role of the state in the economy and the society as a whole” in the 1980s (Rietvel and Bruinsma 1998). The authors also suggest the approach taken by Grubler and Nakiconovic in 1991, who found that there was a life-cycle to the funding of infrastructure by the public sector, in which the overlap became increasing smaller between the two. The cycles would include the canal cycle in the beginning of the 19th century, the railway cycle in the first half of the 19th century, the 20th century cycle of road and the current or to be occurring cycle of aviation and telecommunications. (Rietveld and Bruinsma) Although public funding for infrastructure types has seemed to pull away, a simple explanation seems to be that the initial costs and energy required to initially plan, develop, and build the infrastructure are highest and the residual maintenance of these projects makes the state seem less involved in infrastructure as a whole. In some cases, such as in Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the privatization of rail has also shifted the need for public capital for maintenance into private companies who run freight and passenger rail.
Rietveld and Bruinsma also discuss the issue of accessibility, specifically the ease of use, and the effectiveness of infrastructure. The authors do a fair job compiling other studies that have operationalized these concepts and proceed into a discussion of calculating transport costs. They argue, much like the previous two articles, “transport infrastructure investment lead to changes in generalized transport costs via shorter distances or higher speeds, which give rise to reductions in fuel, capital and labour costs” (Rietveld and Bruinsma 1998: 47). This decrease in transportation costs would, in theory, increase productivity, which will in turn lead to growth of gross domestic product (GDP). Development of infrastructure, specifically accessible and well-planned infrastructure can also positively impact property value, which is also a facilitator of investment and growth in developing and developed nations. For Rietveld and Bruinsma the “inequalities in accessibility are least pronounced in the road network…[however] in the rail network inequalities are clearly higher” (Reitveld and Bruinsma 1998: 139). The better accessibility for road networks are partially due to the actual cost of roads versus rail and also due to the ease of expanding and adding onto existing road networks, whereas expansion and changes in rail and create more problems and cost more. Also roads are more likely to be used for both economic and personal travel, whereas the differences between passenger and industrial rail are more challenging due to the different gauges in rail lines, locomotives, and the planning process differences between industrial and passenger rail.
While plans for roads that serve industrial and residential areas might differ in the amount of capacity and how the network as a whole will react to the new road or linkage, traffic planning models are widely used internationally by Western governments to determine how many lanes are necessary and where connections should be made based on user demand. Rail is harder to determine demand since passenger rail and industrial rail require specialized trains that are able to adapt to the different types of lines, and set schedules are not always able to meet demand, and sometimes can actually run at a higher cost since a train without product or passengers following the schedule might be necessary in order to make the next connection. The remainder of the book delves into comparisons of European accessibility studies, corridor development, and some case studies. With the varying opinions on how to determine and measure accessibility, the author’s comparison is useful and shows that for a most part population, type of transit infrastructure, and usage rates are standard in determining this factor. As a whole, the authors are advocating for the building of road networks, and they show a compelling link between positive influx of GDP due to the development of infrastructure.
