TRANSPORT IN CHIDDINGSTONE
Revolutions in transport are the catalysts for the long-term economic cycles known as Kondratieff waves. These cycles are roughly 60 years long and start with the invention of a new form of transportation. This stimulates a burst of economic growth as businesses become more efficient. Demand for goods and services rise as reduced transport costs are passed on in lower prices to consumers. Late in the cycle comes an inflation shock and by the end the form of transport that started it all is bankrupt or nationalised. The cycles can vary in length but looking back in history you can see the following transport revolutions: Turnpike roads (1750), Canals (1810), Railways (1870), Airlines (1920) and the Internet (1980). The last one may be stretching things a bit but in a sense the ‘information superhighway’ is a form of transport
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