Evaluating the benefits from transport infrastructure in agriculture: a hedonic analysis of farmland prices

Brief description

Article released in the Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resources Economics January 2018. Cite as: Sheng, Y, Jackson, T and Lawson, K ,2018, Evaluating the benefits from transport infrastructure in agriculture: a hedonic analysis of farmland prices. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. doi:10.1111/1467-8489.12243

Access to transport infrastructure generates a range of benefits to the agriculture sector; many of which are difficult to measure directly. In this study, we use hedonic regression analysis of farm-level data to examine the contribution of transport infrastructure to the value of farmland traded between 2009 and 2011 through its impact on farm productivity.

We show that a one per cent of reduction in the cost of transportation between farms and ports leads to a 0.33 per cent increase in land prices, and there is no significant difference between rail and road transportation at the aggregate level. Moreover, the benefits generated by particular types of infrastructure services vary between industries and with farm size, suggesting there are multiple channels through which public infrastructure influences agricultural production. Our findings help to inform future investment decisions in Australia and in other countries by providing new evidence regarding the benefits of existing transport infrastructure.

Full description

Link to the article on the Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics website - KeyDocument 01 \r\n This hedonic regression analysis of farm-level data shows access to better transport infrastructure (which reduces transport costs) increased the value of farmland traded between 2009 and 2011. The benefits generated by particular types of infrastructure services vary between industries and with farm size.
Authoritative descriptive metadata for: Evaluating the benefits from transport infrastructure in agriculture: a hedonic analysis of farmland prices - Metadata in ISO 19139 format\r\n