Scholarly record

DELIMITATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES DUE TO THE TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

Katarzyna Chudy-Laskowska

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to answer the questions whether transport infrastructure in the EU countries is diverse and to what extent and whether the level of infrastructure development has changed over the years 2008-2015. A review of the literature on transport infrastructure in the EU countries and the impact of its state on the socio-economic development of the studied regions has been made. Due to its complexity, 10 indicators describing the condition of transport infrastructure in the EU countries were used in the research. The knowledge and research experience have been applied to the selection of features. The main criterion for the selection of indicators was access to databases and statistical analysis (descriptive statistics). Then, selected measures were verified and benchmarked (2008-2015) (correlation analysis and U-Mann-Whitney test). The subject of research were 28 countries belonging to the European Union. The main research tool was one of the methods of multidimensional comparative analysis (Ward method). Research shows that the infrastructure in the EU countries is very diverse and depends on geographical location, terrain and development level of a given country. On the basis of the research, several groups of countries will be distinguished, which will differ in terms of the level of transport infrastructure development. Looking at the preliminary data, it can be concluded that the indicators defining the infrastructure have improved. The analysis may be useful in the case of decisions made by EU bodies in order to channel more resources to the development of transport infrastructure to the countries that need it most, and may also help in applying for joint infrastructure investments for groups of countries with a weaker level development of transport infrastructure.

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