Call for Proposals: Transport Infrastructure for the Development of Latin America
Convocation from July 31 to September 13, 2020
Through this call, CAF–development dank of Latin America– is issuing this call for research proposals that implement quantitative spatial economic models for the analysis of transport infrastructure projects and their impact on the economic development of Latin America
The economic analysis and impact evaluation of transport infrastructure projects faces particular identification challenges. First, because it is characterized by its network structure, that is, an improvement in connectivity between two points generates changes in all the links in the network despite not having been directly modified. Second, because when faced with a transport network modified by some investment project, firms and workers react by changing their location, resulting in changes in the spatial distribution of economic activity, even in non-intervened regions. This results in further changes to the mobility flows of people and goods. Third, these infrastructure works not only have aggregate effects, but also have relevant local effects, for example at the town or city level, for which little information is available.
To overcome these challenges, there is a growing set of tools in quantitative spatial economics, in many cases supported by non-traditional data sources (e.g. satellite images, mobile phone data, etc.), that allow increasingly robust analyzes on transport infrastructure projects, with great potential to inform investment decisions and thus contribute to enhancing their impact on the region’s development.
Through this call, CAF–development bank of Latin America– is issuing this call for research proposals that implement quantitative spatial economic models for the analysis of transport infrastructure projects and their impact on the economic development of Latin America. Up to 4 proposals will be selected granted USD 15,000.00, to study prospective or finished projects in Latin America, in the areas of:
- Road infrastructure
- Rail infrastructure
- Air, river or sea transport
- Logistics corridors, including multisectoral nature (e.g. railways and ports, multimodal trade infrastructure, etc.)
- Urban transport infrastructure
To apply, you must complete this online form
Deadline extension: September 13th at 23:59 (Buenos Aires time)
documents
results
The research team is pleased to announce the results of this call for proposals. We received 120 proposals in total, including numerous promising projects by talented research teams. After careful assessment of every proposal following the selection criteria described in the Terms and conditions of this call, the selection committee selected the following five proposals (by order of arrival):
- The Long and Winding Roads: Roads, Inequality, and Growth, by Luis E. Quintero and Guillermo Sinisterra (partial funding).
- Urban Transit Infrastructure: Spatial Mismatch and Labor Market Power, by Felipe Vial Lecaros, Jorge Pérez Pérez and Román David Zárate (full funding).
- Urban transit infrastructure: gender heterogeneity in welfare gains, by Daniel Velasquez, Sebastian Sotelo (full funding).
- How Infrastructure Shapes Comparative Advantage (extensions), by Luis Alberto Baldomero Quintana (partial funding).
- Evaluating the Impact of Buenos Aires’s Metrobus on Within-City Spatial Sorting, by Pablo Ernesto Warnes (full funding).
