Publication: The Russian Federation - An Exploratory Assessment of Transport Connectivity
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Date
2017-06-12
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Published
2017-06-12
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Abstract
This study describes the performance of the sector vis-à-vis socioeconomic features of regions and discusses whether the development of market opportunities is limited by the availability of transport.Specifically, this study has two main objectives. First, it provides an exploratory assessment of transport connectivity in Russia. Second, it assesses the impact of improved transport productivity on the Russian economy and whether such an improvement has different economic impacts in various regions of the country. The study is complemented by a market/industry analysis and the performance of transport infrastructure in two selected regions : Zabaikalsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai. Transport connectivity, as defined in this study, mainly focuses on freight transport and not so much on how passengers in different parts of the country are able to access transport services. Furthermore, while this study assesses general relationships between transport connectivity and economic outcomes—such as growth, poverty, and productivity it does not intend to formally or empirically establish a causal relationship between these variables. Expectedly, the average economic distance to market is much less in the well-connected western and central regions than in the more isolated eastern and northern regions. An increase in transport efficiency, resulting from reduction of travel time or technological progress,can have a different impact on regional productivity and welfare. This study presents some preliminary results of a simulation of a positive shock in transport efficiency using a regional general equilibrium analysis for Russia. International surveys of manufacturing and services firms provide mixed evidence of the importanceof transport for firm productivity in Russia.For a country as a large as Russia, it does not suffice to provide an explanation of connectivity in thewhole territory. However, isolated regions, at least those located in areas far from markets in the European side of Russia, may not necessarily be “transport disconnected” from their markets. Finally, it is important to note that in a large country like Russia achieving a good level of connectivity depends both on the density of the national transport network and the level of population dispersion.This report is divided into two parts. Part one considers the provision of transport services at the national level. We first summarize selected studies of the impact of transport services on economic growth and development, then discuss some relevant characteristics of Russia’s provision of transport services andtransport sector performance. Part two of the report develops two case studies.
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“World Bank Group. 2017. The Russian Federation - An Exploratory Assessment of Transport Connectivity. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30046 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”