A Study on Regional Economic Efficiency of Improving Transportation Facilities

Abstract

We have proposed in this study a new econometric model for estimation of the longterm and synthetic regional economic effects of improving transportation facilities. The principle of this study is based on the Expanded Inter-regional I-O Analysis. We analyzed the variation of the inter-regional trade pattern coefficient and the input coefficient in the inter-regional I-O analysis according to the saving of transport cost between regions caused by improvement of transportation facilities, and proposed a mathematical model which explains this process. Then, using the econometric model, we showed that the variation of these structural coefficients changes the various present economic indexes and also the future final demand and inter-regional trade pattern coefficient, and that the effects of improving transportation facilities change the regional economic structure accumulatively year after year. Additionaly, we applied this econometric model for the estimation of effects of the New Tokaido Line.