Urban growth and transportation§ Gilles Duranton∗

Abstract: We estimate the effects of interstate highways on the growth of us cities between 1983 and 2003. We find that a 10 % increase in a city’s initial stock of highways causes about a 1.5 % increase in its employment over this 20 year period. To estimate a structural model of urban growth and transportation, we rely on an instrumental variables estimation which uses a 1947 plan of the interstate highway system, an 1898 map of railroads, and maps of the early explorations of the us as instruments for 1983 highways. Key words: urban growth, transportation, interstate highways, instrumental variables. jel classification: l91, n70, r11, r4