Cities’ investment in road infrastructure systems across regions

Infrastructure investment has become a recent policy priority across cities and regions. The present research analyses specific institutional mechanisms that promote cities’ investment in infrastructure systems. It explores how city governments adapt their infrastructure investment to state and local contexts. Using data at the municipal level, we examine trends in city-governmental investment toward road infrastructure across 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017. Specifically, we present detailed data on impact fee authority for cities. The baseline finding is that local investment in road infrastructure varies widely in urban regions. Additional findings are that impact fee authority and fiscal transfers are statistically associated with cities’ investment in road infrastructure systems. Further, we present a series of alternative tests to explore the potential sensitivity of results. The study connects literature on intergovernmental mechanisms that support local government investments in urban infrastructure systems.