Driving Economic Growth through Transportation Infrastructure: An In-Depth Spatial Econometric Analysis

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Reviewer report on

“Driving Economic Growth through Transportation Infrastructure: an In-depth Spatial Econometric Analysis” Submitted to Sustainability (sustainability-2987244)

The paper addresses the role that transport infrastructures and services play in promoting trade, industrial production, and growth. Both the transport of goods and people are subject to evaluation. The analysis is empirical and focuses on a specific region of China, namely the cities of Zheijiang province. The study concludes that there is a close relationship between the development of infrastructures and market dynamism and growth.

Overall, I perceive the manuscript as a meaningful scientific contribution: it is well written and well structured; the research question is clear; the employed econometric techniques are, as far as I can tell, adequate and correctly implemented; and the discussion and conclusion are meaningful. Having said this, I only have a few minor comments, that might be used to improve the article’s contents:

1) The abstract is too long and lacks focus. The authors should try to contain it in fewer words, conveying only the most fundamental ideas about what the paper does and the results it achieves.

2) The paper is very well written but there are a series of typos that are easy to correct under an automatic spell checker. E.g., ‘undersocre’ in the abstract’, ‘introduciton’ in the title of the introduction; ‘varibales’ repeated very frequently through the paper (lines 115, 142, 168, 253, …); …

3) The introduction is a little bit vague and disperse. Maybe it could be split in two: a short incisive introduction, and a second section with the literature review and additional ideas on the contribution of the paper.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Please see attached file.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for your insightful comments and constructive feedback on our manuscript submitted to Sustainability. We appreciate the time you took to review our work and are grateful for your positive remarks regarding its content and structure. We have addressed each of the comments as follows:

1) Abstract Revision: We have revised the abstract to sharpen its focus and condense the information. The revised abstract now succinctly presents the core aspects of our research and the main findings, ensuring it is concise yet informative.

2) Correction of Typos: We have thoroughly reviewed the manuscript and corrected all the typos you kindly pointed out, including those in the abstract and throughout the text. We apologize for these oversights and have implemented an additional round of spell-checking to ensure such errors are avoided in the future.

3) Restructuring the Introduction: We have taken your advice to refine the introduction of our paper. It has now been split into three sections. The first section is a concise introduction that outlines the research question, motivation, and its significance succinctly. The second section extensively reviews the literature. The third section discusses the contributions of our study in more depth.

We believe these revisions have significantly improved the manuscript and hope they meet your expectations. Thank you once again for your valuable feedback.

Best regards,

Zhihong Zhao

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This manuscript provides a valuable contribution in the assessment of the effect of transportation infrastructure on the economic development. In particular, its consideration of a spacial effect on the model. It has a good contribution to the literature and the conclusions provide helpful insights to decision makers. However, there are some typos the require careful proofreading of the text prior to final acceptance. 

A minor modification is required for Figure 1 by using standard flow chart symbols. for instance the condition "If LM suggests spatial dependence" should be put inside a diamond shape with two branches for yes and no answers.

Also, in Table 2, separate the rows between different variable category by a horizontal line as in Table 1 for clarity.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Careful proofreading is required to correct some typos in the text. Here are some spotted typos:

1) In several locations of the manuscript, the work variable is miss-spelled, as it is written as "varibale" instead. Please revise.

2) In line 249, write "scientific accuracy" instead of "scientific accurate"

3) In line 267, replace "we faced with the uncertainty of model specification" with "the uncertainty of model specification is encountered"

4) In line 373, replace "In this section, the experimental" with "This section"

5) In line 387, replace "as shown" with "is shown"

6) I line 434, replace "city are" with "city is"

 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for your valuable feedback and constructive suggestions regarding our manuscript. We appreciate your recognition of the paper's contribution to the literature on the economic impacts of transportation infrastructure, especially in terms of its spatial aspects. We have addressed each of the comments and suggestions as follows:

1. Typos and Language Corrections
   We have conducted a thorough proofreading session to correct all typos, including the consistent misspelling of "variable" throughout the manuscript. In addition, specific corrections have been made according to your suggestions.
2. Figure 1 Revision
   We have revised Figure 1 to include standard flowchart symbols. The condition "If LM suggests spatial dependence" is now properly placed within a diamond shape, with branches leading to 'yes' and 'no' outcomes, enhancing the clarity and professionalism of the diagram.
3. Table 2 Formatting

We have added horizontal lines to separate rows between different variable categories in Table 2, similar to the formatting in Table 1. This modification enhances the readability and organization of the data presented.

We hope that these revisions adequately address your concerns and improve the quality and clarity of the manuscript. We are grateful for your insightful critiques and are confident that these changes have strengthened the paper. Thank you once again for your thorough review and helpful suggestions.

Best regards,

Zhihong Zhao

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The title of the article is Driving Economic Growth through Transportation Infrastructure: An In-Depth Spatial Econometric Analysis. The document's structure consists of Introduction - Materials and Methods - Describes the methods, Methodology, Description of Dataset, Experiments and Results, Discussion and Conclusion – Discusses, References - Additional Details. Also consists Number of figures – 1, the Number of tables- 9, and the Number of references- 31. he use of advanced spatial econometric tools adds some originality, but the core concept of linking transportation infrastructure to economic outcomes is well-tread in academic literature.The use of advanced spatial econometric tools adds some originality, but the core concept of linking transportation infrastructure to economic outcomes is well-tread in academic literature.The research question is to assess how various types of transportation infrastructure affect economic development. Specifically, it explores the quantitative impact of different transportation facility variables, such as freight volume and road mileage, on economic activity in the prefecture-level cities of Zhejiang Province in China. The originality of the study lies in its in-depth spatial econometric analysis, which uses a comprehensive set of transportation variables covering different modes of transport like road, rail, waterway, and air. This addresses a specific gap in the literature that often focuses only on provincial-level data, providing a finer resolution of data at the city level. Compared to other materials, this research offers a detailed spatial econometric approach that includes the calculation of Moran’s I index for spatial autocorrelation and uses advanced econometric tests (LM, Hausman, and LR tests) to select the most suitable spatial model. This methodological rigor allows for a more nuanced understanding of the relationships between transportation infrastructure and economic outcomes. The authors could consider incorporating more diverse data sources to enhance the robustness of the findings, including real-time transportation and economic data. Additionally, applying alternative econometric models that account for potential endogeneity between transportation infrastructure and economic growth could strengthen the study’s conclusions. The conclusions drawn are consistent with the evidence and arguments presented. The study effectively links increased freight volume and expanded road infrastructure with higher economic activity. Each of the posed questions is addressed through detailed econometric analyses, which substantiate the findings on the positive impact of transportation infrastructure on economic growth. Further enhancement could include visual representations like maps or graphs showing spatial correlations directly. The references (31) are appropriate and relevant, drawing on a wide range of previous studies that investigate the relationship between transportation infrastructure and economic development. This provides a solid theoretical and empirical foundation for the study. The oldest cited work is from the year 2006. The most recent cited work is from the year 2023. This shows that the study utilized literary sources spanning at least 17 years of research and publications, providing a broad historical context and current data regarding the topic of transportation infrastructure and its impact on economic development. However, clarity could be improved by explicitly stating the research hypotheses at the beginning and linking them directly to the methods section. The tables and figures are well-constructed, providing clear insights into the data analysis process and results. However, it would be beneficial if the study provided more information on the source and reliability of the transportation data used. Overall, the research offers substantial contributions to understanding the economic impacts of transportation infrastructure, with robust methodology and well-supported conclusions. The document mentions that the dataset covers the period from 2010 to 2020. This indicates that the analyses and research conducted within this study focused on data collected over a decade, from the beginning of 2010 to the end of 2020. Given these factors, the data from 2010 to 2020 in specific cases can still offer valuable insights, particularly for understanding baseline trends and effects in transportation economics. However, for more current applications, considering recent data or acknowledging the impact of recent events will enhance the relevance and applicability of the findings. To strengthen this, the article should demonstrate how each result connects to the broader conclusions and discuss any potential biases or anomalies in the data that might influence these conclusions.

 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for your detailed feedback and the thoughtful suggestions on our manuscript. We value your acknowledgment of our methodological contributions and have addressed your comments to enhance the clarity and robustness of our study.

1. Transparency on Data Sources and Reliability
   We have provided detailed descriptions of the sources and reliability of our transportation data. This includes information on how the data was collected, any limitations, and the measures taken to ensure data accuracy and consistency.
2. Connection of Results to Broader Conclusions
   We have made explicit connections between individual results and the broader conclusions in the discussion section. This includes a thorough examination of potential biases or anomalies in the data and how they might influence our conclusions.
3. Diverse Data Sources
   We emphaized the source of dataset. In the future, we appreciate your suggestion to incorporate more diverse data sources. To enhance the robustness of our findings, we have added real-time transportation and economic data from additional authoritative sources, which will allow us to provide a more dynamic analysis of the impact of transportation infrastructure.

We believe these enhancements address your concerns and significantly strengthen our manuscript. We are grateful for your insights, which have been instrumental in refining our study. Thank you once again for your thorough review and constructive feedback.

Best regards,

Zhihong Zhao