Reports
Discussion Papers
No.767 The Impact of Highways on Commodity Prices: The Price of Butter in Japan
by Kazunobu Hayakawa and Kenmei Tsubota
March 2020
ABSTRACT
This study empirically investigates the effect of highways on retail prices of butter in Japan. We take into account the relocation of butter producers because of the development of highways. We found that highway construction increased transportation speed, but the average transportation time from the production site also increased dramatically due to the increase in transportation distance. The latter factor occurred because of the concentration of butter factories in limited regions. As a result, on average, the increase in transportation time during 1966–1980 raised the price of butter by 3.3%. While the increase in speed reduced the price by 2%, the increase in transportation distance increased it by 5.3%.
Keywords: Highways, Japan, Transportation Time
JEL classification: D04, H43, R42
PDF available at http://hdl.handle.net/2344/00051581
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