{"title":"Can government intervention correct and adjust resource misallocation of infrastructure: Evidence from toll expressway of China","authors":"Pengrui Bai , Zhiyu Ma , Lufeng Tian","doi":"10.1016/j.trip.2025.101629","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>How the government guides the allocation of infrastructure resources has gained attention in recent years as more countries recognize the importance of competent government and efficient market. Most research on the misallocation has only qualitatively considered the negative effects of government intervention on capital or labor. Actually, the structure of mileage scale is more important in the process of transportation resource allocation. To examine the characteristics of resource misallocation in China’s toll expressway sector and clarify the effects of government intervention on such misallocation, we first quantified three misallocations. Employing a dynamic panel model and moderating effect model, we investigated the internal mechanisms of government intervention on resource misallocation in China’s expressway sector. Empirical results revealed four key results. (1) Toll expressways have serious resource misallocation. Government intervention corrects these misallocations, especially mileage scale structure. (2) The corrected effect of government intervention on misallocation shows a significant heterogeneity. Government intervention has a more corrective effect for the operating toll expressways, companies and areas with excessive allocation of toll expressway resources, eastern regions of China. (3) Industrial agglomeration plays a dynamic regulatory role in the process of government intervention to correct misallocation. At an optimal level, government intervention facilitates the ameliorate of misallocation. (4) The same role also exists in factor marketization strengthening the correction. However, the corrective effect of government intervention has a critical value. This study’s insights into government intervention’s effects on resource misallocation in China’s expressway sector lay a critical foundation for enhancing resource efficiency and fostering high-quality infrastructure development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":36621,"journal":{"name":"Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives","volume":"33 ","pages":"Article 101629"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198225003082","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"TRANSPORTATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
How the government guides the allocation of infrastructure resources has gained attention in recent years as more countries recognize the importance of competent government and efficient market. Most research on the misallocation has only qualitatively considered the negative effects of government intervention on capital or labor. Actually, the structure of mileage scale is more important in the process of transportation resource allocation. To examine the characteristics of resource misallocation in China’s toll expressway sector and clarify the effects of government intervention on such misallocation, we first quantified three misallocations. Employing a dynamic panel model and moderating effect model, we investigated the internal mechanisms of government intervention on resource misallocation in China’s expressway sector. Empirical results revealed four key results. (1) Toll expressways have serious resource misallocation. Government intervention corrects these misallocations, especially mileage scale structure. (2) The corrected effect of government intervention on misallocation shows a significant heterogeneity. Government intervention has a more corrective effect for the operating toll expressways, companies and areas with excessive allocation of toll expressway resources, eastern regions of China. (3) Industrial agglomeration plays a dynamic regulatory role in the process of government intervention to correct misallocation. At an optimal level, government intervention facilitates the ameliorate of misallocation. (4) The same role also exists in factor marketization strengthening the correction. However, the corrective effect of government intervention has a critical value. This study’s insights into government intervention’s effects on resource misallocation in China’s expressway sector lay a critical foundation for enhancing resource efficiency and fostering high-quality infrastructure development.