Publications
Publications
- July 2024
- Journal of Urban Economics
JUE Insight: Infrastructure and Finance: Evidence from India's GQ Highway Network
By: Abhiman Das, Ejaz Ghani, Arti Grover, William Kerr and Ramana Nanda
Abstract
We use data from Reserve Bank of India to study the impact of India's Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) highway project on finance-dependent activity. Loan volumes increase by 20-30% in districts along GQ and are stronger in industries more dependent upon external finance. Loan growth begins with increases in average branch size and in places with more pre-GQ loan activity. New branch openings come later, consistent with short-run adjustment costs to expanding branch networks. These patterns are not evident in placebo tests using delayed investments in NS-EW highways. Results suggest the depth of initial financial infrastructure shapes how infrastructure investments impact localities.
Keywords
Highways; Finance; Development; Infrastructure; Banks and Banking; Transportation Networks; Financing and Loans; Growth and Development; India
Citation
Das, Abhiman, Ejaz Ghani, Arti Grover, William Kerr, and Ramana Nanda. "JUE Insight: Infrastructure and Finance: Evidence from India's GQ Highway Network." Art. 103593. Journal of Urban Economics 142 (July 2024).