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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Juhász, Mattias; Tamás Mátrai; Gergely Gál |
| Abstract: | In the last three decades the level of motorization has increased a lot in Budapest, so the well-known urban congestion effect became relevant in the capital of Hungary (ca. 30 years after western European cities). Since 2007, which was a peak in terms of traffic volumes the idea of the congestion charging scheme has become more and more popular among transport professionals and general public. The purpose of a possible measure could be quite complex: a combination of revenue generation, influence travel behaviour and environmental goals. As there were different legal, territorial and fiscal alternatives to achieve the goals, a widespread, detailed feasibility analysis needed in order to assess the expected effects and to choose the most efficient version. Therefore the research question was that is it suggested to introduce a congestion charging scheme in Budapest and if yes, than how the system should work? The research methodology was a conventional feasibility assessment with a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) of the theoretical alternatives, transport modeling, cost-benefit and cost-efficiency analyses. The aim of this paper is to present the results of these assessments. Through the analysis of expected transport, environmental, economic and social effects a few proposed alternatives have been selected. This case-study presents how complex a decision-making process can be which involve so many conflicting interests. It provides an insight to the main challenges and it shows through the results that what lessons can be learnt and adopted to other cities with similar issues. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sit:wpaper:14_02&r=tre |
| By: | Giovanni Agostinis |
| Abstract: | This paper seeks to contribute to the study of contemporary South American regionalism focusing on the emergence and development of sectoral cooperation and policy coordination within the Union of South American Countries (UNASUR). To do so the paper analyzes two policy areas ?transport infrastructure and energy integration? from the inception of cooperation in 2000 until 2014, addressing two questions: (i) why regional cooperation has emerged despite the absence of economic interdependence and market-driven demand for economic integration, and (ii) why policy outcomes are evident in some areas (i.e., transport infrastructure) while limited in others (i.e., energy). Bringing together insights from rationalist and constructivist approaches in IR and IPE, it is argued that the emergence of regional cooperation as well as the sharp variation in policy outcomes between areas can be largely explained by the articulation of a regional leadership and its effect on the convergence of state preferences. The paper shows how the Brazilian leadership, incentivized by the effects of the US-led FTAA negotiations and the financial crises that hit the region in the late 1990s, made state preferences converge towards a regionalist project encompassing all South American countries by making visible the mutual benefits of cooperation on transport infrastructure and energy. Furthermore, the paper illustrates how in spite of significant changes in South American states’ cooperation preferences the Brazilian leadership was able to adapt the cooperation process in the transport infrastructure sector to the new circumstances of regional politics permitting not only the institutionalization of sectoral cooperation, but also the implementation of several infrastructure transnational projects. In the case of energy, instead, the emergence of a second regional leadership project –pursued by Chávez’s Venezuela – and the deep divergence of state preferences led energy cooperation into a gridlock. |
| Date: | 2014–06–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erp:euirsc:p0393&r=tre |
| By: | Mark Hoekstra; Steven L. Puller; Jeremy West |
| Abstract: | Cash for Clunkers was a 2009 economic stimulus program aimed at increasing new vehicle spending by subsidizing the replacement of older vehicles. Using a regression discontinuity design, we show the increase in sales during the two month program was completely offset during the following seven to nine months, consistent with previous research. However, we also find the program's fuel efficiency restrictions induced households to purchase more fuel efficient but less expensive vehicles, thereby reducing industry revenues by three billion dollars over the entire nine to eleven month period. This highlights the conflict between the stimulus and environmental objectives of the policy. |
| JEL: | H3 L5 Q4 |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20349&r=tre |
| By: | Twerefou, Daniel Kwabena; Adjei-Mantey, Kwame; Strzepek, Niko Lazar |
| Abstract: | Climate change scenarios for many Sub-Saharan African countries including Ghana indicate that temperatures will increase while rainfall will either increase or decrease. The potential impact of climate change on economic systems is well-known. However, li |
| Keywords: | climate change, impacts assessment, road infrastructure, stressor response |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2014-032&r=tre |
| By: | Piotr Rosik; Marcin Stepniak; Musial-Malagó, Monika |
| Abstract: | The main goal of the paper is to present the results of the potential accessibility model, which enables simulations of changes of accessibility in Poland to be performed due to the opening of the model to the international dimension. The most important conclusions from the analysis of potential accessibility are as follows. The spatial distribution of potential accessibility depends most upon the value of the beta parameter appearing in the exponential distance decay function and upon the spatial scale (national vs. international variant of the analysis). The opening up of the potential model to the entire European continent significantly changes the image of accessibility in Poland, in particular when long trips are taken into account. For shorter trips the areas located along the German border benefit, mainly owing to the proximity of Berlin, yet the highest accessibility still remains in Warsaw and Upper Silesia (as in the national variant). For longer trips the areas with the best accessibility are Lower Silesia (south-western part of Poland), along with the areas bordering Germany and the Czech Republic. The accessibility level decreases in a north-easterly direction. Railway accessibility changes to a much smaller extent when the model is opened to the European dimension. The results of the study may find application in planning analyses, in strategies, in relation to cohesion, regional and transport policies, and also in the transboundary context. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sit:wpaper:14_03&r=tre |