The Political Economy of Transport Innovations

Many transportation and telecommunication innovations were proposed over the course of the last century. They include new technologies, new ways of organization and new ways to manage these systems. Overall, the innovations that were adopted have changed the way we conduct our affairs, as the cost and effort associated with overcoming distance plummeted. Yet, many additional options were proposed, but never adopted, or were adopted only in a very limited and modified form. In some cases, innovations were first adopted and later abandoned. These observations raise the question: Why have certain innovations been adopted while others have not?