The IMF has compiled a new road quality indicator

The IMF has compiled a new road quality indicator, showing on an interactive map which are the fastest and which are the slowest roads.

The average road speed in the world varies from 38 km/h in Bhutan to 107 km/h in the USA. The fastest roads are in countries with richer economies: in addition to the United States, these include Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Chile - everywhere the average speed is above 90 km / h. In China, it is exactly 90 km / h, in Russia - 76 km / h (time was measured to Moscow from Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk). The slowest roads (up to 60 km/h) are usually found in the poorest countries, becoming another obstacle to economic development for them.

When I talk in my videos about the fact that an important step for industrial development is the creation of a single economic space, I am talking about this: in the 19th century, the problem of connectivity was solved by the active construction of railways. Today it is not only railway, but also road, river and air transportation. Low mobility of goods and resources between regions of one country means lower competitiveness of the economy.

The better developed the transport infrastructure between the two cities, the more intense the trade between them, the more intensive the trade, the more opportunities a local company has to enter the interregional level, and this increases competition in a single interregional market. Increasing competition leads to productivity growth, productivity growth increases incomes, and this increases investment in more productive and capital-intensive modes of production.

In general, high-speed roads increase productivity, reduce poverty and make an important contribution to sustainable and inclusive economic development.

P.S. Speed does not include traffic safety and the availability of other modes of transport, but is highly correlated with them.

Grigory Bazhenov 2022-06-21