The economic performance of transportation infrastructure: an empirical study on the recent development of China

It has been widely recognised that infrastructure systems highly affect the economic development of a country or region. In particular, the quality and quantity of transportation infrastructure have a direct bearing on economic growth in developing countries. Therefore, it is challenging to allocate the infrastructure construction budget across a country so that economic growth as a whole will not be hampered by the lack of infrastructure construction in any local area. In this research, the authors focus on simulating the correlations between economic growth, capital investment and transportation infrastructure construction in China historically and comparing the production and investment indicators at the cross-region based on the statistical data reported from government agencies in China. These computed correlations and indicators are crucial for making financial decisions and investment policies on transportation infrastructure construction at a national level.