Wages and Accessibility: The Impact of Transport Infrastructure

© 2013 Regional Studies Association. Matas A., Raymond J.-L. and Roig J.-L. Wages and accessibility: the impact of transport infrastructure, Regional Studies. This paper contributes to the debate about the effect of accessibility on firms' productivity. It uses a micro-dataset that locates workplaces at the NUTS-3 level of regions. It elaborates an effective density variable using employment and interprovincial travel time data, allowing for a flexible time decay effect. The results show that there is a positive effect of accessibility on productivity, with elasticity around 0.06. Finally, by means of a simulation technique, this paper shows that the impact of road investment on productivity is higher the more developed are the regions connected.