ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF CONGESTION

TLDR

Assessing the economic impact of congestion is challenging, and this study advances a broader definition of its costs. The study investigates how traffic congestion influences producers’ business costs, productivity, and output, and examines their varying sensitivity to congestion. The research demonstrates multiple facets of congestion’s impact on businesses and local economies, identifies necessary data for cost documentation, and shows how analysis can be performed and refined.

Abstract

This report will be of interest to individuals who are concerned about the economic implications of congestion. This study examines how traffic congestion affects producers of economic goods and services in terms of business costs, productivity, and output, and how producers are variously sensitive to congestion. Past attempts to assess the economic implications of congestion have found that this is a difficult relationship to document. This study should be viewed as an incremental step toward a broader definition of the economic costs of congestion. The research shows the many facets of congestion impacts on businesses and local economies, by illustrating the types of data necessary to document those costs and demonstrating how analysis can be carried out and ultimately improved.