Regional economic development and transportation: Transportation as a competitive factor in Atlantic Canada.

摘要

The objectives of this study included the assessment of the importance of competitive freight rates, freight subsidies, and the level of transportation infrastructure on regional economic development in Atlantic Canada.;The results of the analysis indicate that competitive transportation rates are very important to the competitiveness of regional firms. Access to well-maintained highways was also important. Access to water, rail and air transportation was less important. Freight subsidies were high in overall importance in only two sectors: agriculture and forestry. Current economic and transportation environments do not reflect traditional viewpoints which emphasize the importance of: Central Canadian markets, the level of transportation costs, and freight subsidies, to the regional economy. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).;The primary objective of this research was to gather information about the importance of transportation factors to the competitive position of firms in the goods-producing sectors of the economy of the Atlantic Provinces. To facilitate this research, a representative sample of firms in the region was surveyed. To determine the significance of transportation factors in terms of the competitiveness of firms, fourteen competitive factors were rated, according to their importance, by each sampled firm. Six transportation factors were included among the competitive factors.