Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
更好的出行：英格兰与威尔士道路质量与旅行关系的新证据（1660-1820）
A better ride: New evidence on travel and the quality of roads in England and Wales, 1660-1820
摘要
Travel improved dramatically between 1660 and 1820 in England and Wales. This paper uses nearly 100 travellers’ diaries to study the mode choice, speed of road transport and the quality of the roads used from the mid-1600s to 1820. Using mapping software, we digitise journeys made by various travel modes along more than 348,000 journey miles. We document that travel shifted from the saddlehorse to wheeled vehicles and that speed increased, although to a lesser degree in private or hired carriages compared to stagecoaches. We also report a novel measure of road quality using diarists’ descriptions of the road. The reported quality of many main roads went from ‘poor’ to ‘adequate’ or ‘good’ by the early 19th century. We also show that turnpike trusts, a novel organization for road funding, contributed to significantly better quality and were favoured over other roads by travellers in wheeled vehicles. Our estimates imply that the spread of turnpike trusts can account for most of the road quality change from 1660 to 1820.
中文摘要
1660年至1820年间，英格兰和威尔士的旅行条件显著改善。本文利用近100位旅行者的日记，研究了从17世纪中期至1820年间出行方式的选择、道路运输速度及所用道路的质量。借助地图绘制软件，我们将各种出行方式超过348,000英里的旅程进行了数字化处理。研究发现，出行方式从骑马转向了轮式车辆，且速度有所提升，尽管私人或租赁马车的速度提升幅度不及公共马车。我们还通过日记作者对道路的描述，提出了一种新颖的道路质量衡量指标。至19世纪初，许多主要道路的报告质量从“差”提升至“尚可”或“良好”。此外，我们表明，作为道路融资的新型组织，收费信托机构显著改善了道路质量，并受到轮式车辆旅行者的青睐。我们的估算显示，收费信托机构的普及可以解释1660年至1820年间大部分道路质量的改善。