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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Dütschke, Elisabeth; Peters, Anja |
| Abstract: | Replacing conventional vehicles by electric vehicles (EVs) and increasing the use of carsharing are two strategies to reduce the environmental impact of car driving. However such a societal transition towards the use of more sustainable modes of transport will strongly depend on citizens' willingness to support this process. For this reason, this paper tries to identify factors which are related to the individual likelihood to change to more sustainable modes of transport. It draws on an adapted version of Rogers' diffusion of innovation model (DOI) and earlier work by the authors. It presents new findings from an online survey (n=1548) in one of Germany's show case regions for electric vehicles. Findings point out that relatively small shares of respondents already use these sustainable modes of transport (.6% for EV ownership and 5.3% for carsharing). Similarly, the shares of individuals who are very likely to use them in the near future (4.2% and 4.6% respectively) are also small. Much more individuals are interested in EVs (55.9%) than in carsharing (21.2%), and large groups are not interested (37.7% for EVs, 68.9% for carsharing). There are several significant sociodemographic differences between the respective four adoption groups. Furthermore, consistently, evluations are significantly more positive the higher the likeliness of adoption across groups. Based on regression models, it turns out that perceived compatibility with daily life is the most important factor influencing the attitudes towards EVs or carsharing across all groups. |
| Keywords: | Electric vehicles,Carsharing,Adoption,Diffusion of Innovation |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fisisi:s062017&r=tre |
| By: | de Vos, Duco (Delft University of Technology); Meijers, Evert J. (Delft University of Technology); van Ham, Maarten (Delft University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | It is generally found that workers are more inclined to accept a job that is located farther away from home if they have the ability to work from home one day a week or more (telecommuting). Such findings inform us about the effectiveness of telecommuting policies that try to alleviate congestion and transport related emissions, but they also stress that the geography of labour markets is changing due to information technology. We argue that estimates of the effect of working from home on commuting time are biased downward because most studies ignore preference based sorting (self-selection): workers who dislike commuting, and hence have shorter commutes, might also be more likely to work from home. In this paper we investigate to what extent working from home affects the willingness to accept a longer commute and we control for preference based sorting. We use 7 waves of data from the Dutch Labour Supply Panel and show that on average telecommuters have a 50 percent higher marginal cost of one-way commuting time, compared to non-telecommuters. We estimate the effect of telecommuting on commuting time using a fixed-effects approach and we show that preference based sorting biases cross-sectional results 27-28 percent downwards. Working from home allows people to accept 5.7 percent longer commuting times on average, and every additional 8 hours of working from home are associated with 3 percent longer commuting times. |
| Keywords: | telecommuting, commuting time, job search, job mobility, labour market area |
| JEL: | J32 R11 R41 |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10875&r=tre |
| By: | Jonathan D. Hall; Craig Palsson; Joseph Price |
| Abstract: | How Uber affects public transit ridership is a relevant policy question facing cities worldwide. Theoretically, Uber's effect on transit is ambiguous: while Uber is an alternative mode of travel, it can also increase the reach and flexibility of transit's fixed-route, fixed-schedule service. We use a difference-in-differences design to measure the effect of Uber on public transit ridership. The design exploits variation across U.S. metropolitan areas in both the intensity of Uber penetration (as measured using data from Google Trends) and the timing of Uber entry. We find that Uber is a complement for the average transit agency. This average effect masks considerable heterogeneity, with Uber being more of a complement in larger cities and for smaller transit agencies. Comparing the effect across modes, we find that Uber's impact on bus ridership follows the same pattern as for total ridership, though for rail ridership, it is a complement for larger agencies. |
| Keywords: | public transportation; difference-in-differences |
| JEL: | R40 H42 |
| Date: | 2017–07–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-585&r=tre |
| By: | Brata, Aloysius Gunadi |
| Abstract: | This study explores the impact on Java’s economic geography of railways built by the Dutch colonial government. Pre-1940 Dutch railway construction affords an historical experiment on the spatial distribution of economic activities across urban Java both before and after 1940. Using city data for over 100 years, the study finds that the railways had a short-term impact on the distribution of population, but that in the long run colonial railway investment lost its advantages. Until 1930, the railways substituted for the Great Mail Road. Between 1930 and 2010, however, the Great Mail Road regained an earlier importance in shaping urban Javanese patterns. The study also draws important lessons for recent Indonesian infrastructure development in Indonesia, notably in regard to the railway system itself. |
| Keywords: | colonial railways, history, economic geography, Java |
| JEL: | N75 N95 R12 |
| Date: | 2017–07–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:80097&r=tre |
| By: | Paul Van Rompuy |
| Abstract: | This paper focusses on the relationship between subnational fiscal autonomy, transport infrastructure investment and regional disparities in 30 OECD countries over the period 1995-2011. Subnational fiscal autonomy is approximated by the revenue share of autonomous taxes. A fixed effects panel estimation reveals that SNG tax autonomy significantly contributes to regional convergence although its impact is small when compared to the effect of transport infrastructure investment. Subnational expenditure on education and economic affairs does not impact spatial disparities. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ete:ceswps:584998&r=tre |
| By: | Claude Mathys (NBB, Microeconomic Information department) |
| Abstract: | This paper is an annual publication issued by the Microeconomic Analysis service of the National Bank of Belgium. The Flemish maritime ports (Antwerp, Ghent, Ostend, Zeebrugge), the Autonomous Port of Liège and the port of Brussels play a major role in their respective regional economies and in the Belgian economy, not only in terms of industrial activity but also as intermodal centers facilitating the commodity flow. This update paper1 provides an extensive overview of the economic importance and development of the Flemish maritime ports, the Liège port complex and the port of Brussels for the period 2010 - 2015, with an emphasis on 2015. Focusing on the three major variables of value added, employment and investment, the report also provides some information based on the social balance sheet and an overview of the financial situation in these ports as a whole. These observations are linked to a more general context, along with a few cargo statistics. Annual accounts data from the Central Balance Sheet Office were used for the calculation of direct effects, the study of financial ratios and the analysis of the social balance sheet. The indirect effects of the activities concerned were estimated in terms of value added and employment, on the basis of data from the National Accounts Institute. As a result of the underlying calculation method the changes of indirect employment and indirect value added can differ from one another. The developments concerning economic activity in the six ports in 2014 - 2015 are summarized in the table on the next page. In 2015 the growth of maritime traffic in the Flemish maritime ports was due to developments in the port of Antwerp and the port of Ghent. Direct value added increased in all Flemish maritime ports in 2015. However, direct employment is continuing to decline. Investment was down everywhere except in the port of Zeebrugge. Cargo traffic in the Liège port complex declined in 2015, whereas it slightly slowed down in the port of Brussels. At the same time, direct value added in Liège shrank while it rose sharply in the port of Brussels. By contrast, direct employment was down in both ports. This report provides a comprehensive account of these issues, giving details for each economic sector, although the comments are confined to the main changes that occurred in 2015. |
| Keywords: | Flemish maritime ports, Liège port complex and the port of Brussels – Report 2015 |
| JEL: | C67 H57 J21 L22 L91 L92 R15 R34 R41 |
| Date: | 2017–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbb:reswpp:201705-321&r=tre |
| By: | William Guevara-Alarc\'on; Luz Mery Gonz\'alez; Armando Antonio Zarruk |
| Abstract: | It is illustrated a methodology to compute the pure premium for the automobile insurance (claim frequency and severity) using generalized linear models. It is obtained the pure premium for the partial damage loss cover (PPD) using a set of automobile insurance policies with an exposition of a year. It is found that the most influential variables in the claim frequency are the car production year, the insured's age, and the region's subscription policy and the most influential variables in the claim severity are the car's value, type and make and the insured's gender. |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1707.03391&r=tre |
| By: | Korbinian Dress; Stefan Lessmann; Hans-J\"org von Mettenheim |
| Abstract: | Leasing is a popular channel to market new cars. Pricing a leasing contract is complicated because the leasing rate embodies an expectation of the residual value of the car after contract expiration. To aid lessors in their pricing decisions, the paper develops resale price forecasting models. A peculiarity of the leasing business is that forecast errors entail different costs. Identifying effective ways to address this characteristic is the main objective of the paper. More specifically, the paper contributes to the literature through i) consolidating and integrating previous work in forecasting with asymmetric cost of error functions, ii) systematically evaluating previous approaches and comparing them to a new approach, and iii) demonstrating that forecasting with asymmetric cost of error functions enhances the quality of decision support in car leasing. For example, under the assumption that the costs of overestimating resale prices is twice that of the opposite error, incorporating corresponding cost asymmetry into forecast model development reduces decision costs by about eight percent, compared to a standard forecasting model. Higher asymmetry produces even larger improvements. |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1707.02736&r=tre |
| By: | Quindimil, Manuel |
| Abstract: | SECO Working Paper 13/2017 by Manuel Quindimil, PUCP |
| Abstract: | This working paper provides a historical overview of the performance of logistics service providers, examining the characteristics of regulations governing logistics service providers, with emphasis on Peru. The paper also discusses the best practices implemented in a number of countries for promoting the integration of logistics operators, presenting a series of proposals for developing logistics service providers in Peru |
| Date: | 2017–07–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wti:papers:1085&r=tre |