The Impacts of Standard Highways Investments in Sichuan-Chongqing Zone: A Spatial Panel Econometric Analysis

摘要

Using panel data for 2004-2007 from 24 regions of the Sichuan-Chongqing zone (SCZ), this paper specifies two panel models to explore the impacts of standard highways investments location on economic growth and narrowing regional disparity. The results reveal that the SAR spatial panel data model incorporating spatial heterogeneity, time period heterogeneity and spatial dependence outperforms traditional panel data model. The improvement of standard highways facilities in each region will have not only greatest positive impacts on its own economic growth but also significantly positive spillover impacts on the economic growth of the other regions. The simulation results show that the improvement of the standard highways facilities in the existing major investment regions not only can not generate large induced impacts on the economic growth of the SCZ but also will enlarge regional disparity. If the goal is to generate largest positive impacts on the economic growth of the SCZ, then we should locate the standard highways investments in the 'core zone'. If the goal is to narrow regional disparity by greatest extent, then we should locate the standard highways investments in the 'middle zone*. To take the two criteria, economic growth and narrowing regional disparity, into account at the same time, the best location of standard highways investments is 'middle zone'. The improvement of the standard highways facilities in the 'periphery' would not only have limited impacts on the economic growth of the SCZ but would also aggravate the unbalanced economic development. The spillover effects must be considered fully in the location choice of standard highways investments, so that all will win and gain from each other.