Transport Policy: Theoretical Framework and Economic Aspects

The transport policy of the state is an integral part of its economic and spatial policy. The relevance of the clarification of the content of the term «transport policy» is conditioned by the attention of the state to the issues of strategic planning in the field of transport. In Russia, it was clearly evidenced by the approval in 2021 by the Government of the Russian Federation of the updated Transport Strategy of the country until 2030 with a forecast for the period until 2035.The article reviews the definitions of transport policy in the scientific literature: its economic, environmental, technical, geopolitical and other aspects are considered. At the same time, the main emphasis of the study was on the economic factors of transport policy: the materials of economic theories (spatial development and distribution of productive forces), decision theories and methods for assessing the effectiveness of investments in transport infrastructure were considered. The definitions and the range of their application are specified. Also, the components of the transport policy have been established and a range of tools of its implementation has been defined, incl. financial, regulatory, etc. Based on the data obtained, a structure of the relationship between transport policy and economic growth was compiled, social and other components to economic aspects were identified.