PLANNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE EUROPE? - TU Berlin

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activity from one place to another (win-lose situation). The latter case is the essence of
the so-called two-way road argument, which warns that “improved accessibility between
two countries (and similarly, between cities, areas or regions) may sometimes benefit one
of them to the disbenefit of the other.” (SACTRA 1999:2). Finally, there is one last
irresolvable methodological challenge that brings us full circle and goes beyond
challenging the productivity of transport investments to give recognition to the simple
fact that travel itself can be both productive or unproductive, so that, depending on its
nature, either an encouragement or a discouragement of movement is in order. This
dilemma is most succinctly summarized in the comprehensive SACTRA report (1999:2-
3), which is worth quoting at length:
[T]heory suggests that there are a number of important mechanisms by which …
transport improvement could, in principle, improve economic performance. […] In
the search for empirical evidence, we find that direct statistical and case-study
evidence on the size and nature of the effects of transport costs changes is limited.
[…] The state of the art of this important field is poorly developed and the results do
no offer convincing general evidence of the size, nature or direction of local economic
impacts. […] Our studies underline the conclusion that generalisations about the
effects of transport on the economy are subject to strong dependence on specific local
circumstances and conditions.
In sum, the discussion on the economic development effects of transport
infrastructure investments is not likely to be concluded any time soon. Certainly, one’s
answer also has much to do with one’s overall ideological background and/or
professional training in particular disciplines. Neoclassical economists, of course,
provide different answers than old time Keynesians, neo-Marxists or environmentalists.
Note that these more contextual aspects of the discussion will be picked up in more detail
in ensuing chapters.