| Summary: | To inform debate on a new transportation bill being considered, the authors review the literature on the economic outcomes of highway infrastructure spending, which constitutes the largest share of federal spending on transportation infrastructure. They first highlight the connections between highway spending and the economy and then analyze the literature to trace the effects of highway infrastructure on productivity, output, and employment. Then, they conduct a formal quantitative meta-analysis to discern more clearly why the literature has produced its current findings about infrastructure and the economy. After discussing these findings, they consider the implications for federal highway policy and for future research.
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