Optimal Transport Networks in Spatial Equilibrium / Pablo D. Fajgelbaum, Edouard Schaal.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fajgelbaum, Pablo D.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Schaal, Edouard.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w23200.

NBER working paper series no. w23200

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2017.

Summary:

We study optimal transport networks in spatial equilibrium. We develop a framework consisting of a neoclassical trade model with labor mobility in which locations are arranged on a graph. Goods must be shipped through linked locations, and transport costs depend on congestion and on the infrastructure in each link, giving rise to an optimal transport problem in general equilibrium. The optimal transport network is the solution to a social planner's problem of building infrastructure in each link. We provide conditions such that this problem is globally convex, guaranteeing its numerical tractability. We also study cases with increasing returns to transport technologies in which global convexity fails. We apply the framework to assess optimal investments and inefficiencies in observed road networks in European countries.

Notes:

Print version record

February 2017.