Meta-analysis of rate of return on road projects

This study analyzes the impact of economic and spatial factors on the economic return on Korean road projects, using meta-regression models and Monte Carlo simulation. This paper finds that the internal rate of return (IRR) is negatively affected by the distance and land acquisition cost (LAC) in urban areas while it is positively related to the population density, ratio of manufacturing workforce to total workforce, and LAC in rural areas. In addition, net benefits can be generated if a road length is less than 5 km. Finally, the IRR tends to be highly sensitive to the population density.