The effect of road distances on the economy of cities in Hajdú-Bihar county THE EFFECT OF ROAD DISTANCES ON THE ECONOMY OF CITIES IN HAJDÚ-BIHAR COUNTY

Abstract

It is a widely accepted view, that the accessibility of road infrastructure is one of the key factors of economic performance and growth. Based on this, one can conclude that the road distances affect the economy of a city significantly, since a city is getting less attractive location at site selection process of an investor firm searching for the ideal site as the given city is located far from highway system compared to those cities that are closer to highways. Thus, we assume that the distance from highways has a negative effect on the economy of a city.

In this paper we study the companies located in the cities of Hajdú-Bihar County, how the revenue on city level, the CAGR of revenue (between 2012 and 2016) and the distance from highway system, Debrecen and the centre of the district. Our analysis points out, on city level, there is no direct relationship between the CAGR of aggregate revenue and distances. On one hand, we can state, that high distance from highway system or from Debrecen does not determine a lower CAGR of aggregate revenue, as we can find both high growth rates in cities far from highway and low growth rates in closer cities. On the other hand, our industry level analysis shows that in the case of some industries (Machine manufacturing, Agriculture and Other services) there is a weak, but significant relationship between the indicators.