When Traffic is Good

Traffic congestion data is supposed to indicate that more businesses are buying, workers are commuting and shoppers are shopping. But isn't too much traffic counterproductive to an economy?

It turns out not to be the case, as economist Eric Dumbaugh has found congestion is positively correlated with per-capita GDP growth.

And European congestion data bears this out. In 2012 Portugal experienced the biggest traffic decline (-50%), followed by Spain (-38%) and Italy (-34%).