Party Connections, Interest Groups and The Slow Diffusion of Infrastructure: Evidence From Britain’S First Transport Revolution
研究18世纪初英国河流航运改善中，政党联系和利益集团如何影响基础设施法案的通过，发现政治因素与地理经济因素同等重要，解释了为何一些城镇被阻碍获得改善。
Economic and political interests often block or delay infrastructure improvements. This article examines their effects by studying Britain’s river navigation improvements in the early 1700s – a subject of intense lobbying in parliament. It shows that stronger party connections and influence in neighbouring areas likely to oppose or support projects affected whether a town got a river navigation act. Their estimated effects are comparable to geography and town economic characteristics in magnitude and help explain whether towns were blocked from getting navigation improvements. The findings address institutions following the Glorious Revolution and broader issues concerning infrastructure, technology diffusion and political connections.