James Blagden, Researcher for Onward, wrote a blog post for the Bennett Institute at Cambridge University on our recent report, Network Effects. He argued that we should:
“…be cautious about proposing further transport investments to boost productivity and incomes – at least in the short term. The impact is likely to be minimal without addressing other economic fundamentals like education and the quality of jobs available.
“But that does not mean that some places are not being held back by weak connectivity at the moment. Academic evidence from the UK indicates that returns to densification are lower than in comparable economies like Germany or the US, as per the work of Philip McCann and Tom Forth, among many others. But it may still be the case that relatively poor connectivity is holding back growth in some parts of the country, especially cities.”
The full post is available to read here.
