VOLUME I
SPRING 1993

THE NEW SPANISH HIGH SPEED TRAIN NETWORK AND ITS ECONOMIC EFFECTS
 
ÓSCAR ÁLVAREZ
Universidad de Valencia
JOSE A. HERCE
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
 
This paper begins with the characterization of the "High Speed Train" concept, on the basis of its generalized cost and compared to other, conventional, alternatives, before going on to describe possible scena-rios for the realization of a Spanish high speed rail network. Later, starting from a range of microeconomic, macroeconomic and sectoral models, the effects derived from the realization of new high speed rail infrastucture is simulated and/or estimated. These effects can be transitory, during the realization phase (production, employment) or permanent (improvements to welfare) and, in any event, important, given the spread and scale of the investment. The paper concludes with a series of illustrations of the economic and social return of the said projects, using the results of the microeconomic analysis.
 
Keywords: Project appraisal. Infrastructure. High Speed Trains.

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