Transport costs: measures, determinants, and regional policy implications for France*
提出一种基于真实运输网络的运输成本计算方法，用于法国341个就业区1978-1998年的公路货运，发现距离和时间等代理变量在横截面分析中有效，但时间序列分析存在偏差；运输技术和市场结构是成本下降的主因，基础设施影响收益空间分布。
We develop a methodology to accurately compute transport costs. Based on the real transport network, our measure encompasses the characteristics of infrastructure, vehicle and energy used, as well as labor, insurance, tax and general charges borne by transport carriers. Computed for the 341 French employment areas, road transport shipments and the period 1978–1998, this new measure is compared to alternative ones such as great circle distance, real distance, or real time. We conclude that these proxies do a very good job in capturing transport costs in cross-section analysis. However, important discrepancies limit the possibility of using them in time series analysis. Moreover, our measure allows us to identify the policies that most impact transport costs. We show that transport technology and market structure are responsible for most of the transport cost decrease. Infrastructure improvements only condition the spatial distribution of the gains. Finally, some implications for researchers and regional policy makers are derived.