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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Garcia López, Miquel-Àngel; Gomez-Hernandez, Yadira; Sanchis-Guarner, Rosa |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a theoretical framework to study the relationship between expanded road capacity, traffic volumes and increased economic activity. We build on Anas (2024) to show that increased volumes do not necessarily lead to congestion if adjustments in economic factors, such as population or employment, are not substantial. We test our predictions obtaining key estimates with data from Great Britain between 2001 and 2020 and adopting a shift-share instrumental variable approach. We find that the elasticity of vehicle kilometres travelled to road capacity improvements is positive and statistically different from 1 across different specifications, while the elasticity of population and employment is positive but smaller than 1. In our framework this implies that the cost of driving does not increase above initial levels, resulting in higher consumer surplus through changes in travel demand and time savings. |
| Keywords: | transportation; road capacity; aggregate travel cost; economic activity |
| JEL: | H4 R41 R42 R48 |
| Date: | 2024–09–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126778 |
| By: | He He; Kim, Chaeyoung |
| Abstract: | Correctly pricing private vehicles and their use is paramount to building sustainable, safe, and equitable transportation systems. However, determining the “right” price – the combination of taxes on vehicle purchase, ownership, and use – is a complex problem. Although a rich literature exists on the subject, it is built on evidence from developed countries. This paper synthesizes the lessons learned from the literature, theoretical and empirical, on vehicle and fuel taxation for managing private vehicle demand. In particular, the paper examines the efficiency and distributional impacts of purchase, ownership, and use taxes. The literature is unequivocal that taxing use dominates taxing purchase or ownership on efficiency grounds. Nonetheless, the latter instruments can still have important roles to play, for example, addressing specific market failures, for equity and political acceptability considerations, or for ease of enforcement. The paper also discusses the practical challenges of saliency, gaming, and evasion of taxes; how the effectiveness of taxes as policy instruments also depends on the availability of alternatives to driving; and what the emergence of electric vehicles means for optimal taxation. Importantly, the paper considers how these lessons, mostly derived from high-income countries with mature automobile markets, apply to developing contexts. In addition to the policy discussion, the paper conducts two exercises compiling empirical evidence. It compiles and compares estimates of the externality costs associated with private vehicle use, including congestion, local air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, injuries, and noise. Similarly, it compiles and compares demand response elasticities to vehicle purchase, ownership, and use taxes. Both serve as useful references for researchers, development practitioners, and policy makers. |
| Date: | 2023–12–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10647 |
| By: | Feng, Zixin; Zhao, Qunshan; Heppenstall, Alison |
| Abstract: | The growth of electric vehicle adoption in the UK has reached a bottleneck due to the limited availability of public chargers. Understanding the usage patterns of existing public chargers and the factors influencing them is necessary for planning future charging infrastructure. Using charging session data from public EV chargers in Great Britain, collected between December 6, 2023, and March 31, 2024, we analysed usage patterns and driving factors in three case regions: Greater London, Greater Manchester, and the Central Belt of Scotland. Spatial regression models were applied to explore relationships between public charger usage rates and various contextual factors over space and time. Our findings show significant regional differences in public charger usage patterns. In Greater London, the higher prevalence of flats limits access to home charging, leading to greater reliance on public chargers, particularly for nighttime charging near residential flats. There is also a high preference for faster charging options and quick turnaround times, likely driven by high parking fees and the intensive travel schedules caused by traffic congestion. In Greater Manchester, drivers rely more on public chargers located in areas densely populated with flats, whereas areas with higher densities of houses or terraces show lower reliance on public chargers. In the Central Belt of Scotland, demand for public chargers is particularly high near motorways, likely due to the significant volume of long-distance commutes between major cities in the region. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of developing region-specific strategies for charger deployment to support a sustainable and efficient charging network. |
| Date: | 2025–02–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:u5yn3_v1 |
| By: | Stokenberga, Aiga; Ivarsson Molina, Linda Ellin Maria; Fulponi, Juan Ignacio; Dominguez Gonzalez, Karla |
| Abstract: | While the travelers’ gender has not been a central consideration driving urban mobility planning, increasing evidence points to gender-differentiated mobility preferences and behaviors. This paper explores this topic in the context of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, aiming to identify policy relevant differences between the mobility of women and men. It does so by leveraging mobile phone–based data, combined with existing household travel survey data and an original large-scale interception survey implemented in late 2021 and early 2022. The paper provides descriptive analysis of key spatial and temporal mobility patterns as well as implements statistical analysis to identify whether gender represented a key determinant of mode choice in the context of the pandemic. The analysis finds that women in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area travel less, tend to have shorter individual trips, and are much more likely than men to travel during off-peak hours, including due to disproportionately taking on “care mobility” responsibilities. In terms of mode choices, women represent the majority of public transport users and are more likely than men to say they would cycle. However, women’s share among public transport users and their actual cycling and walking appear to be spatially correlated with, respectively, the availability of public transport services and dedicated, safe infrastructure. The travel responses to the pandemic documented in the original survey data also suggest that women are more likely than men to switch from public transport to private motorized modes as soon as their incomes allow them to unless appropriate health safety measures are put in place. |
| Date: | 2024–01–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10662 |
| By: | Rampazzo, Pietro |
| Abstract: | There is a gap in the study of mobility. The work done so far is not taking into account the changes the shared-mobility is bringing into our society. This research project aims to leverage shared-mobility data for a better understanding of new patterns in the human-mobility. These new services allow people to use a shared vehicle based on their needs, without the necessity to own one. Shared mobility is going towards users' needs and letting them reach their destination as close as possible. Sharing mobility is improving the data collected and at the same time reshaping the commuting patterns. Understanding travel behaviour is key to creating more resilient, sustainable urban transport networks and reducing carbon emissions. In this research, I start analysing data from Movi which focus on Padova. Movi (ex Mobike) is a free-floating bike sharing system active in Italy and Spain. The data collected by the this service is very detailed and rich. The data sets contain high-level detailed information that is related to service usage. For every trip made it is known: (1) anonymized user id and rental plan, (2) vehicle id, (3) origin (latitude, longitude), (4) destination (latitude, longitude), (5) start date and time (timestamp), (6) end date and time (timestamp), and (7) rounded meters/kilometres travelled. All the information is anonymized. The two research questions this paper is going to address are: (a) What is the profile of the active users? This information can be studied based on the usage data and socio-demographic information the service is collecting. (b) What are the effects of the weather and temperature on the usage of this service? Weather data were retrieved from the local authorities regarding temperature and precipitations. |
| Date: | 2024–06–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:bd8p4_v1 |
| By: | Nicole Gorton; Cecile Gaubert; Pablo D. Fajgelbaum; Eduardo Morales; Edouard Schaal |
| Abstract: | How do political preferences shape transportation policy? We study this question in the context of California’s High-Speed Rail (CHSR). Combining geographic data on votes in a referendum on the CHSR with a model of its expected economic benefits, we estimate the weight of economic and non-economic considerations in voters’preferences. Then, comparing the proposed distribution of CHSR stations with alternative placements, we use a revealed-preference approach to estimate policymakers’ preferences for redistribution and popular approval. While voters did respond to expected real-income benefits, non-economic factors were a more important driver of the spatial distribution of voters’ preferences for the CHSR. While the voter-approved CHSR would have led to modest income gains, proposals with net income losses also would have been approved due to political preferences. For the planner, we identify strong preferences for popular approval. A politically-blind planner would have placed the stations closer to dense metro areas in California. |
| Keywords: | political economy, infrastructure, transportation |
| JEL: | H54 P11 R13 R4 |
| Date: | 2023–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:1397 |
| By: | Farrell, Graham (University of Leeds); Lovelace, Robin; O'Hern, Steve |
| Abstract: | This study uses data from Operation Snap (OpSnap), the UK police’s national system to receive road users’ video evidence of road traffic offences. Data from one police force area for 39 months (January 2021 to March 2024) (N = 20, 364 records) is analysed. Half were submitted by vehicle drivers (49.8%), a third by cyclists (34.7%), 7.2% by pedestrians, 2.2% by horse riders, 0.2% by motorcyclists, and 5.8% were unknown. We estimate that, relative to road distance travelled, cyclists were 20 times more likely to submit video evidence than vehicle drivers. The most common offences overall were driving ‘without reasonable consideration to others’ or ‘without due care and attention’. Half (53.5%) of reported cases resulted in the recommended disposal of an educational course, % no further action 12.6% conditional offer, and 1.6% resulted in court appearance. A research agenda using OpSnap data is outlined that could emerge if national datasets are compiled and responsibly opened-up and made available for research and policy-making: data-driven research should identify hotspot locations and other correlates of dangerous and antisocial road use at regional, and local levels; research projects should investigate disposal-related decision-making, video quality, and the role of supporting evidence; offence concentration (recidivism, repeat submitters of evidence, spatial hotspots) and case progression including court cases should be explored with reference to new video evidence. We conclude that datasets derived from publicly-uploaded video submission portals have the potential to transform evidence-based policy and practice locally, nationally and internationally. |
| Date: | 2024–07–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:cgjmr_v1 |
| By: | Fontagné, Lionel; Lebrand, Mathilde Sylvie Maria; Murray, Siobhan; Ruta, Michele; Santoni, Gianluca |
| Abstract: | Economic integration of the African continent rests on two pillars: the ratification of an ambitious trade agreement and massive investment in transportation infrastructure. Leveraging a newly created city-level database on African exporters’ transport times, transport route optimization and general equilibrium modeling of international trade, the paper quantifies the impact of greater trade and transport integration in Africa. A pan-African agreement, such as the African Continental Free Trade Area, would increase African countries’ exports by an average of 3.4 percent and increase gross domestic product by 0.6 percent. Complementing trade integration by reducing transportation time on roads, ports and border posts would increase exports by 11.5 percent and increase gross domestic product by 2 percent. Major transport investments are necessary to reap the full benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area. |
| Date: | 2023–11–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10609 |
| By: | Kim, Sang-O; Palm, Matthew; Han, Soojung; Klein, Nicholas J. (Conrell University) |
| Abstract: | Transportation scholars are keenly interested in the relationship between transportation and subjective well-being. To date, this body of scholarship has not addressed feelings of time pressure. We use the time crunch index from Canada’s 2015 General Social Survey (GSS) to analyze the role that transportation resources, travel behavior, and social demographics play in respondents’ self-reported experiences of time pressure. We find that resources and daily travel strongly affect the time crunch index and are compounded by the large effect of sociodemographic vulnerability, namely being a woman, immigrant, or member of an ethnic minority, and having a condition of disability. Our analysis presents a new approach for transportation scholars to measure the relationship between social well-being and transportation grounded in several decades of social science research on time use and well-being. |
| Date: | 2023–12–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:z6tvd_v1 |
| By: | Bosker, Maarten; Roberts, Mark; Tiwari, Sailesh; Wibisana, Putu Sanjiwacika; Wihardja, Maria Monica; Yanurzha, Ramda |
| Abstract: | Motorbike-based ride-hailing services are widespread in many of the most congested cities in the developing world. These services often predate the construction of modern public mass rapid transit systems. Ride-hailing services may complement such investments by providing important first and last mile connectivity. However, it has also been argued that they undermine the viability of mass rapid transit systems as people prefer to use ride-hailing services given their convenience and low prices. This paper applies an event study research design to proprietary, high-frequency data from one of Indonesia’s largest ride-hailing services, Gojek. The findings show that the opening of stations on Jakarta’s first mass rapid transit line led to large increases in ride-hailing activity in the immediate vicinities of the stations. This was accompanied by a significant decline in the average distance of ride-hailing trips to and from the station locations. These findings are consistent with ride-hailing services complementing public transport by providing first and last mile connectivity to the newly opened mass rapid transit system. Interestingly, this holds for both commuting and non-commuting trips and is strongest for mass rapid transit station locations that were not already served by Jakarta’s bus rapid transit system. |
| Date: | 2023–12–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10640 |
| By: | Stephen J. Redding |
| Abstract: | The recent development of quantitative urban models provides a new set of tools for evaluating transport improvements. Conventional cost-benefit analyses are typically undertaken in partial equilibrium. In contrast, quantitative urban models characterize the spatial distribution of economic activity within cities in general equilibrium. We compare evaluations of a transport improvement using conventional cost-benefit analysis, sufficient statistics approaches based on changes in market access, and model-based counterfactuals. We show that quantitative urban models predict a reorganization of economic activity within cities in response to a transport improvement, which can lead to substantial differences between the predictions of these three approaches for large changes in transport costs. |
| Keywords: | transportation, spatial economics, urban economics |
| Date: | 2025–02–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2080 |
| By: | Helene Donnat; Luz Yadira Gomez-Hernandez; Nicolas Gonzalez-Pampillon; Gonzalo Nunez-Chaim; Henry G. Overman |
| Abstract: | We consider how existing distance-based and accessibility-based evaluation methodologies can be adapted to measure the local economic impact of small additions to the transport network. We use these methodologies to evaluate the impact of 94 UK Local Major schemes (partly) funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) between 2007 and 2018. For public transport schemes, the results suggest some impacts on local economic activity, with a 1.6% increase in the number of businesses. The effects are localised, concentrated in areas within 1 km of schemes. For road schemes, we do not find a measurable, statistically significant impact. We discuss the limitations of these methods and issues arising in their application and provide recommendations for future evaluations. |
| Keywords: | accessibility, transport, employment |
| Date: | 2025–02–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2081 |
| By: | Pérez-Sebastián, Fidel; Serrano Quintero, Rafael; Steinbuks, Jevgenijs |
| Abstract: | How does the misallocation of complementary public capital affect the spatial organization of economic activity To answer this question, this paper endogenizes the government's decision to invest in the transport and electricity networks. A novel multi-sector quantitative spatial equilibrium model incorporates the quality of the electric power and the road transportation infrastructure networks, which determine sectoral productivities and trade costs. Simulation results for the Brazilian economy point to significant welfare gains from reallocating infrastructure investment. Spatial and fiscal complementarities in heterogeneous infrastructure provision determine a sizeable part of those gains. Misallocation of both infrastructure investments is positively associated with local political support for the incumbent authority. |
| Date: | 2023–12–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10650 |
| By: | Chen, Yutong; Cosar, Kerem; Ghose, Devaki; Mahendru, Shirish; Sekhri, Sheetal |
| Abstract: | Reducing gender-specific commuting barriers in developing countries has complex effects on women’s labor dynamics. The paper studies a program that offers free bus rides for women in several Indian states (the Pink Slip program) using a synthetic difference-in-differences approach to shed light on labor supply and time use decisions of women. It observes decreased bus expenses and time saved on travel. Skilled employed women increase labor supply, while low-skilled married women shift focus to household chores. Unemployed women intensify job searches, yet overall employment rates remain unchanged. The findings highlight that alleviating commuting costs does not uniformly boost women’s labor participation, as gender roles and societal norms continue to shape outcomes. |
| Date: | 2024–02–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10701 |
| By: | Boeing, Geoff (Northeastern University); Pilgram, Clemens; Lu, Yougeng |
| Abstract: | This study estimates the relationships between street network characteristics and transport-sector CO2 emissions across every urban area in the world and investigates whether they are the same across development levels and urban design paradigms. The prior literature has estimated relationships between street network design and transport emissions---including greenhouse gases implicated in climate change---primarily through case studies focusing on certain world regions or relatively small samples of cities, complicating generalizability and applicability for evidence-informed practice. Our worldwide study finds that straighter, more-connected, and less-overbuilt street networks are associated with lower transport emissions, all else equal. Importantly, these relationships vary across development levels and design paradigms---yet most prior literature reports findings from urban areas that are outliers by global standards. Planners need a better empirical base for evidence-informed practice in under-studied regions, particularly the rapidly urbanizing Global South. |
| Date: | 2024–01–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:r32vj_v1 |
| By: | Johannes Gessner |
| Keywords: | environmental regulation, global value chains, innovation, fuel economy standards, directed technological change Decarbonizing industries to mitigate climate change requires technological change. Innovation by suppliers can play a crucial role in the technological transition, particularly when suppliers have expertise in zero-emission technologies. In this paper, I study the effect of environmental regulation in a downstream industry on the innovation outcomes of suppliers in the context of the European CO2 emission standard for passenger cars. I construct a novel data set that links administrative data on car manufacturer compliance to supplier patent data using information on automotive supply chains. To identify the causal effect of changes in the stringency of the emission standard, I leverage the heterogeneous exposure of automotive suppliers to changes in the composition of the European car market in the aftermath of the 2015 Volkswagen diesel scandal. Exposure to more stringent environmental regulation increases innovation for zero-emission vehicle technologies among existing suppliers. In addition, the likelihood that car manufacturers form new supply chain links to firms with expertise in technologies to reduce vehicle emissions increases in response to more stringent environmental regulation. These results suggest that environmental regulation induces economically significant technology spillovers to the regulated firms. |
| JEL: | O30 Q55 Q58 |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2025_654 |
| By: | Palm, Matthew |
| Abstract: | Night and evening shift workers play critical roles in the modern economy, yet the mobility implications of working at these times is understudied. Shift workers’ schedules are mis-aligned with the schedules of their families and most of society, complicating their contribution to household-serving travel and their participation in social activities. This study models the effects of working nights and evenings on household-serving and social trips, including social trips with other householders. I apply binary logistic and Poisson regression with block bootstrapping to a large household travel survey to test for effects. Night and evening shift workers are less likely to make a trip for recreation, visiting others, or eating out, on days that they work. People working evening shifts are also less likely to make a trip for community or religious purposes. Evening shift workers are also less likely to conduct household-serving trips on days that they work, and this effect is amplified for women with regards to errands and shopping. When people work impacts what activities they can participate in and whether they participate in some social activities with other householders. These impacts hold negative implications for the mental health and wellbeing of shift workers. |
| Date: | 2024–01–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:ts8zf_v1 |
| By: | Lamuela Orta, Carlos (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland) |
| Abstract: | Increasing the modal share of cycling is a common urban transport policy goal and expanding cycling infrastructure is its key policy instrument. During COVID-19, temporal bike lanes raised in prominence globally, as many cities adopted top-down versions of tactical urbanism (e.g., “coronapistes” in Paris). Yet in Helsinki, a Nordic capital recognized otherwise for its urban policy innovations, cycling policy remained unchanged despite the city lagging in its ambitious goals for modal shift. To explain this lack of policy transfer, the article explores stakeholders’ discourses and reveals a political contradiction and a technical double standard within the municipal organization. Together with a visual in-situ analysis of temporal street arrangements, these discourses reveal the paradoxical role of temporal street construction in Helsinki. The article concludes that in Helsinki the mainstreamed version of tactical urbanism did not yet represent a real opportunity to reorient cycling policy, despite the pandemic shock. On the contrary, in a policy context based on conflict avoidance and a non-zero-sum political space, temporal street arrangements are a fundamental part of maintaining the status quo of automobility. The study suggests that a way to break policy path dependency could be the reframing of existing expertise in institutions and stakeholders to give it new political meaning. |
| Date: | 2024–04–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:rwgu6_v1 |
| By: | Boeing, Geoff (Northeastern University); Ha, Jaehyun |
| Abstract: | Street networks allow people and goods to move through cities, but they are vulnerable to disasters like floods, earthquakes, and terrorist attacks. Well-planned network design can make a city more resilient and robust to such disruptions, but we still know little about worldwide patterns of vulnerability, or worldwide empirical relationships between specific design characteristics and resilience. This study quantifies and measures the vulnerability of the street networks of every urban area in the world then models the relationships between vulnerability and street network design characteristics. To do so, we simulate over 2.4 billion trips across more than 8, 000 urban areas in 178 countries, while also simulating network disruption events representing floods, earthquakes, and targeted attacks. We find that disrupting high-centrality nodes severely impacts network function. All else equal, networks with higher connectivity, fewer chokepoints, or less circuity are less vulnerable to disruption's impacts. This study thus contributes a new global understanding of network design and vulnerability to the literature. We argue that these design characteristics offer high leverage points for street network resilience and robustness that planners should emphasize when designing or retrofitting urban networks. |
| Date: | 2024–03–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:tk93y_v1 |
| By: | Ashish Ashok Uikey (Symbiosis International (Deemed University)); Ruturaj Baber (Christ University, Bengaluru, India); Zericho R Marak (Symbiosis International (Deemed University)) |
| Abstract: | The present study leverages the Stimulus-Organism-Behavior-Consequence (SOBC) framework to investigate how green transparency influences green brand loyalty and repurchase intention among electric vehicle consumers. Specifically, it examines the mediating roles of brand image and brand credibility in the relationships among green transparency, green brand loyalty, and repurchase intention. Data collected from 386 electric vehicle users were analyzed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Results reveal that green transparency positively impacts brand image and brand credibility, which subsequently enhances green brand loyalty and repurchase intention. Mediation analysis further highlights brand image and brand credibility as critical mechanisms linking green transparency to green brand loyalty. This study extends the SOBC framework to green marketing, offering theoretical and practical insights into fostering sustainable consumer behavior. By emphasizing the role of green transparency in building credible and compelling brand narratives, the findings guide marketers in cultivating consumer trust and loyalty while supporting policymakers in formulating transparency regulations for a sustainable marketplace. |
| Keywords: | Brand credibility, Brand image, Electric vehicles, Green brand loyalty, Green marketing, Green transparency, Repurchase intention |
| Date: | 2025–01–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04925852 |
| By: | Antweiler, Werner |
| Abstract: | When faced with making economic trade-offs between lower upfront purchase costs and lower operating costs, many consumers experience "capital bias", a phenomenon that is tantamount to discounting future costs excessively. Consumers may therefore end up with investments that are sub-optimal on a life-cycle cost basis. Capital bias can affect the purchase of many goods that could lower greenhouse gas emissions such as electric vehicles, heat pumps, or more efficient appliances. The benecial effect of carbon pricing can be thwarted by capital bias when technology usage is price-inelastic and benecial environmental gains occur mostly at the extensive margin (replacements) rather than the intensive margin (usage). Policies other than carbon pricing may be needed to induce consumers to shift to product choices that are superior on a lifecycle cost that includes external costs from greenhouse gas emissions (or other negative externalities). This paper provides a novel theoretical micro-economic analysis of the problem coupled with an investigation about competing policy interventions. Conventional carbon pricing can be ineffective in the presence of consumer myopia, while subsidy (or penalty) schemes that influence the purchase decision can be effective especially when they are conditioned on a usage threshold and/or offer incentives proportional to usage. There is scope for alternative policy designs that can overcome consumer myopia as a hurdle to adopting energy-ecient durable goods. The theoretical analysis is rounded out with empirical simulations focusing on electric vehicle adoption. |
| Abstract: | Wenn es darum geht, einen wirtschaftlichen Kompromiss zwischen niedrigeren Anschaffungskosten und niedrigeren Betriebskosten zu finden, unterliegen viele Verbraucher einem "capital bias", ein Phänomen, das einer übermäßigen Diskontierung künftiger Kosten gleichkommt. Dies kann dazu führen, dass die Verbraucher Investitionen tätigen, die im Hinblick auf die Lebenszykluskosten suboptimal sind. Kapitalverzerrungen können sich auf den Kauf vieler Güter auswirken, die die Treibhausgasemissionen senken könnten, wie Elektrofahrzeuge, Wärmepumpen oder effizientere Geräte. Die positive Wirkung der Kohlenstoffbepreisung kann durch Kapitalverzerrungen vereitelt werden, wenn der Technologieeinsatz preisunelastisch ist und die positiven Umweltauswirkungen am extensiven Rand (Ersatz) zu verorten sind, nicht am intensiven Rand (Nutzung). Andere politische Maßnahmen als die Preisgestaltung können nötig sein, um die Verbraucher dazu zu bewegen, sich für Produkte zu entscheiden, die in Bezug auf die Lebenszykluskosten günstiger sind, die die externen Kosten von Treibhausgasemissionen (oder andere negative externe Effekte) einschließen. Dieses Papier liefert eine neuartige theoretische mikroökonomische Analyse des Problems in Verbindung mit einer Untersuchung über konkurrierende politische Interventionen. Konventionelle Bepreisung von Kohlenstoff kann unwirksam sein, wenn die Verbraucher kurzsichtig handeln. Subventions- (oder Straf-)Regelungen, die die Kaufentscheidung beeinflussen, können vor allem wirksam sein, wenn sie an einen Schwellenwert für den Verbrauch gebunden sind und/oder Anreize bieten, die proportional zum Verbrauch sind. Es gibt Spielraum für alternative politische Konzepte, mit denen die Kurzsichtigkeit der Verbraucher als Hindernis für die Einführung von energieeffizienten langlebigen Güter überwunden werden kann. Die theoretische Analyse wird durch empirische Simulationen abgerundet, die sich auf die Einführung von Elektrofahrzeugen fokussiert. |
| Keywords: | Carbon pricing, internalities, capital bias, environmental policy |
| JEL: | Q58 Q48 D11 D83 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:312427 |
| By: | Peng, Cong; Wang, Yao; Chen, Wenfan |
| Abstract: | This study explores the impacts of road improvements in a country characterized by "urbanization without growth". Our analysis reveals that, although road upgrades increase population growth, they do not significantly advance economic development and tend to worsen living conditions. Utilizing a combination of empirical evidence and a spatial equilibrium model, we identify that constrained industrial capacities and congestion from high population density limit the efficacy of road development policies in enhancing GDP and overall welfare. Our results also indicate that strategically targeting road placement in regions with higher economic productivity could yield better economic outcomes. |
| Keywords: | road improvements; urbanization; industrialization; quantitative spatial model; satellite imagery; africa |
| JEL: | O1 R1 R4 |
| Date: | 2024–12–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126771 |
| By: | Baciu, Dan Costa (Architektur Studio Bellerive) |
| Abstract: | This article explores the complex relationship between mobility, diversity, and perceived urban value by studying urban “chains of activities” that define city life. Introducing chains-of-activities-models (CHOAMs), we present a method for systematically analyzing how individuals move through the city and engage in a variety of urban activities. We also show that changing mobility options or the supply of activities can directly influence the ways people experience and the extent to which they value the urban environment. By facilitating rapid modeling and testing of scenarios, our research framework empowers urban planners, designers, and policymakers to envision cities as dynamic systems and leverage the relationship between mobility and diversity to optimize human-scale benefits. Through these insights obtainable through CHOAMs, the present article opens the door to a future of automated, proactive, and value-driven urban design. |
| Date: | 2025–02–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:wuyp9_v4 |
| By: | Helmers, Viola; Van der Werf, Edwin |
| Abstract: | The taxation of aviation is a frequently discussed component of governments' efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. This study examines the impact of the German aviation tax on passenger numbers during the period 2011-2019 using five panel data estimators and a Specification Curve Analysis (SCA) to assess the robustness of the results to changes in the specifications of the econometric model. Employing five base models, we find that the tax induced a 6-11% reduction in the number of passengers departing annually from Germany in the first two years after implementation. For later years, estimated effects are more ambiguous. The SCA, comprising 175 alternative specifications, corroborates our main findings while showing a slightly wider range of effect sizes, especially on the upper bound. The results show that the choice of econometric method can affect research outcomes, especially for the fourth year of the tax and onward. |
| Abstract: | Die Besteuerung des Luftverkehrs ist eine häufig diskutierte Maßnahme von Regierungen zur Verringerung von Treibhausgasemissionen. Diese Studie untersucht die Auswirkungen der deutschen Luftverkehrsteuer auf Passagierzahlen im Zeitraum 2011-2019 mit Hilfe von fünf Paneldatenschätzern und einer Specification Curve Analysis (SCA), um die Robustheit der Ergebnisse gegenüber Änderungen in den Spezifikationen des ökonometrischen Modells zu bewerten. Unter Verwendung von fünf verschiedenen Schätzern stellen wir fest, dass die Steuer in den ersten beiden Jahren nach Einführung der Steuer zu einem Rückgang der Anzahl der jährlich aus Deutschland abfliegenden Passagiere um 6-11 % führte. Für die nachfolgenden Jahre sind die geschätzten Effekte uneindeutig. Die SCA, welche weitere 175 alternative Spezifikationen umfasst, bestätigt unsere Hauptergebnisse und zeigt eine etwas breitere Spanne von Effektgrößen, insbesondere im oberen Bereich. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Wahl der ökonometrischen Methode die Ergebnisse maßgeblich beeinflussen kann, in diesem Fall insbesondere für die Effekte ab dem vierten Jahr der Steuer. |
| Keywords: | Aviation policy, aviation tax, passenger tax, transport economics, dynamic panel model, specification curve analysis |
| JEL: | C21 C23 H23 R48 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:312424 |
| By: | Kleineberg, Tatjana Karina; Murray, Sally Beth; Tang, Yulu; Kaw, Jon Kher |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the long-run welfare and productivity effects of transit improvements in the Greater Amman Municipality. The paper builds a rich quantitative spatial model that includes many aspects of the economic geography of Amman. It studies the effects of new bus rapid transit lines that improve the connection of more peripheral areas to the city center, in two phases: phase 1 (approximately) connecting the north-eastern and north-western regions, and phase 2 adding the southern and south-westerns regions. It finds that the bus rapid transit increases output by 4.4 to 5 percent in phase 1 and 7.2 to 7.6 percent in phase 2. Workers in manufacturing benefit the most, and they also lived farthest from the city center before the bus rapid transit was established. Welfare in all neighborhoods increases, with the largest increases at the outer ends of the new bus rapid transit lines. Phase 1 generally promotes densification and welfare in already dense locations, while phase 2 encourages additional densification to the south. Our preliminary analysis of the interaction of zoning restrictions with the bus rapid transit suggests that legal zoning limits are binding in a few locations where excess demand for real estate after the expansion of bus rapid transit is expected to be large. |
| Date: | 2024–06–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10802 |
| By: | Baquie, Sandra; Behrer, Arnold Patrick; Du, Xinming; Fuchs Tarlovsky, Alan; Nozaki, Natsuko Kiso |
| Abstract: | Air pollution profoundly impacts welfare, causing more deaths globally than malnutrition, AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. In the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, air pollution levels exceed international standards and surpass levels in other cities in the region. The average monthly PM2.5 concentration in Tbilisi is 20 Micrograms per cubic meter, four times higher than the World Health Organization’s annual recommended limit. This paper uses multiple data sources — administrative data, satellite imagery, private real estate transactions, and traffic data — to estimate the impact of air pollution on the health and productivity of people in Tbilisi. It estimates that a 1 percent increase in PM2.5 levels corresponds to a 0.24 percent increase in respiratory hospitalization rates. A 1 percent increase in PM2.5 is also associated with a 0.2 percent decrease in rental prices. All the estimates are lower bounds of the total impact of air pollution as they only account for short-term consequences. The study shows that traffic and industrial activity are significant drivers of air pollution in Tbilisi. The paper also estimates the positive co-benefits of potential carbon pricing policies from air pollution reduction. Adopting a carbon tax of $25 per ton would reduce hospitalizations by 0.44 percent per district by 2036, while increasing rental prices by 0.38 percent. |
| Date: | 2023–12–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10643 |
| By: | Yang, Ron Nan |
| Abstract: | How prevalent are empty miles in freight trucking markets, and what are the economic frictions that contribute to empty miles This study collected estimates of empty trips, empty miles, and backhaul probabilities from the economics and transportation literature, covering 40 years and 27 countries. A meta-analysis provides an average empty mile share of 29 percent, with significant variation across settings. High-income countries tend to have lower shares of empty miles than low- and middle-income countries. This study reviews empirical evidence behind three potential mechanisms behind empty trips, geographic imbalances in freight demand, search and matching frictions, and regulatory barriers, and develops a stylized model to capture these sources and evaluate potential policies. |
| Date: | 2024–05–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10775 |
| By: | Lebrand, Mathilde Sylvie Maria; Mongoue, Arcady; Pongou, Roland; Zhang, Fan |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether the expansion of fast internet networks complements or substitutes for the development of roads to improve market access and create more and higher-skilled jobs in Africa. The paper combines the geographic locations of households and firms with the locations of main roads and optical-fiber nodes in 25 Sub-Saharan African countries. Using the difference-in-differences and instrumental variables approaches and leveraging the history of post-independence road building and the timing of the arrival of submarine internet, the paper examines the impacts of access to these two types of infrastructure, both in isolation and in combination. The findings show that improving access to both has large and positive complementary effects. On average, the additional impacts on employment from combining access to both types of infrastructure are 22 percent larger than the sum of their isolated effects. The findings suggest that a big push for combined investments in fast internet and road access could enhance economic development in Africa overall. Firms and workers in urban locations, female workers, and workers with higher levels of education gain the most from the complementarities that emerge. |
| Date: | 2024–03–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10730 |
| By: | Selod, Harris; Steinbuks, Jevgenijs; Trotter, Ian Michael; Blankespoor, Brian |
| Abstract: | This paper uses four decades of data on Brazilian municipalities to study the separate and joint impacts of highway and electricity infrastructure access on local economic outcomes. The identification strategy employs difference-in-difference estimators with staggered adoption design. The results show strong contemporaneous effects of electrifying municipalities that already have access to a highway, whereas electrification or highway provision alone may, at best, have no effect. Infrastructure investments also facilitated long-lasting structural transformation effects, with both types of infrastructure access spurring growth of the industrial output share. |
| Date: | 2024–05–23 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10785 |
| By: | Jérémy Tantely Ranjatoelina (ONG Dry Forest); Manovosoa Finaritra (IST-T - Institut Superieur de Technologie D'antananarivo) |
| Abstract: | Bush-taxi is an institution in Africa. In Madagasikara, it is the main way of transportation between different localities for the majority of the population. Before 2013, the industry was fragmented between a multitude of cooperatives which differentiated each other very little, particularly in terms of business model. In 2013, the industry was disrupted by the entry of Cotisse Transport company on the market. This new entrant burst on the industry with an innovative business model. This research seeks to answer the question "How to enter an existing market with an innovative business model?" After an exploration of business model innovation literature in entrepreneurial context and of the few existing references about bush-taxis in Madagascar, this qualitative, exploratory and abductive research highlights the classic business model of bush-taxi cooperatives before 2013, as well as the Cotisse Transport one. It discusses the entry of a new entrant on an existing market with an innovative business model and the implications of the implementation of such a business model innovation. |
| Abstract: | Le taxi-brousse est une institution en Afrique. À Madagasikara, c'est le principal moyen de transport entre les différentes localités pour la majorité de la population. Avant 2013, l'industrie était fragmentée entre une multitude de coopératives très peu différenciées les unes des autres, en particulier en matière de business model. En 2013, l'industrie a été bouleversée par l'entrée sur le marché de l'entreprise Cotisse Transport. Ce nouvel entrant a fait irruption dans l'industrie avec un business model innovant. Cette recherche cherche à répondre à la question "Comment entrer sur un marché existant avec un business model innovant ?". Après une exploration de la littérature sur l'innovation de business model en contexte entrepreneurial et des quelques références existantes sur l'industrie du taxi-brousse à Madagasikara, cette recherche qualitative, exploratoire et abductive met en lumière le business model classique des coopératives de taxi-brousse avant 2013, ainsi que celui de Cotisse Transport. Elle discute l'entrée d'un nouvel entrant sur un marché existant avec un business model innovant, et les implications de la mise en œuvre de cette innovation par le business model. |
| Keywords: | Business model, Innovation, Bush taxi, Case study, Madagascar, Business model innovation, Base of the Pyramid BoP, Business model / modèle d’affaires, Taxi-brousse, étude de cas, Business model innovant, Innovation - modèles d'entreprise, Base de la Pyramide BOP |
| Date: | 2025–01–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04905570 |