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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Kano, Kazuko; Kano, Takashi; Takechi, Kazutaka |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically establishes the significant roles of transport costs in price dispersions across regions. We identify and estimate the iceberg-type distance-elastic transport costs as a parameter of a structural model of cross-regional price differentials featuring product delivery decisions. Utilizing a data set of wholesale prices and product delivery patterns of agricultural products in Japan, our structural estimation approach finds large distance elasticities of the transport costs. The result confirms that geographical barriers are an economically significant contributor to the failures of the law of one price. |
| Keywords: | Law of one price, Regional price dispersion, Transport cost, Geographical distance, Agricultural wholesale price, Sample-selection bias |
| JEL: | F11 F14 F41 |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:econdp:2012-01&r=tre |
| By: | Andreas Lange (University of Hamburg, Germany); Andreas Ziegler (University of Kassel, Germany, and ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the voluntary provision of public goods that is partially driven by a desire to offset for individual polluting activities. We first extend existing theory and show that offsets allow a reduction in effective environmental pollution levels while not necessarily extending the consumption of a polluting good. We further show a nonmonotonic income-pollution relationship and derive comparative static results for the impact of an increasing environmental preference on purchases of offsets and mitigation activities. Several theoretical results are then econometrically tested using a novel data set on activities to reduce CO2 emissions for the case of vehicle purchases in the U.S. and Germany. We show that an increased environmental preference triggers the use of CO2 offsetting and mitigation channels in both countries. However, we find strong country differences for the purchase of CO2 offsets. While such activities are already triggered by a high general awareness of the climate change problem in the U.S., driver’s license holders in Germany need to additionally perceive road traffic as being responsible for CO2 emissions to a large extent. |
| Keywords: | public good, voluntary provision, climate change, CO2 offsetting, vehicle purchase, discrete choice models |
| JEL: | C25 C35 H41 Q54 |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eth:wpswif:12-161&r=tre |
| By: | Börjesson, Maria (KTH, ABE) |
| Abstract: | The parameters for travel time and travel cost are central in travel demand forecasting models. Since valuation of infrastructure investments requires prediction of travel demand for future evaluation years, inter-temporal variation of the travel time and travel cost parameters is a key issue in forecasting. Using two identical stated choice experiments conducted among Swedish drivers with an interval of 13 years, 1994 and 2007, this paper estimates the inter-temporal variation in travel time and cost parameters. It is found that the travel time parameter has remained constant over time but that the travel cost parameter has declined in real terms. The trend decline in the cost parameter can be entirely explained by higher average income level in the 2007 sample compared to the 1994 sample. The results support the recommendation to keep the travel time parameter constant over time in forecast models but to deflate the travel cost parameter according to forecasts of income increases among travellers and the relevant income elasticity of the cost parameter. Evidence from this study further suggests that the inter-temporal and the cross-sectional income elasticity of the cost parameter are equal. The average elasticity is found to be -0.8- -0.9 in the present sample of drivers, and the elasticity is found to increases with real income level, both in the cross-section and over time. |
| Keywords: | Travel demand forecasting; Inter-temporal income elasticity; Marginal disutility of time; Marginal disutility of cost; Time parameter; Cost parameter; Stated preference; Replicated survey |
| JEL: | C25 D61 J22 R41 R42 |
| Date: | 2012–05–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2012_016&r=tre |
| By: | Krüger, Niclas (VTI) |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a novel method for estimating the traffic demand risk associated with transportation. Using mathematical properties of wavelets, we develop a statistical measure of traffic demand sensitivity with respect to GDP. This measure can be adapted in a flexible way to capture risk levels relevant for different investment horizons. We demonstrate the time-scale decomposition of risk with Swedish traffic demand data for 1950-2005. In general, rail transports show a stronger co-movement with GDP than road transports. Moreover, we examine the volatility exhibited by traffic demand. Our findings suggest that rail investments are more risky than road investments. Since the findings can be used for optimal investment timing and for choice among public investment alternatives, they are deemed important for public policy in general. |
| Keywords: | Traffic demand; GDP growth; Wavelet; Risk; Real options; Discount rate |
| JEL: | H43 H54 O11 |
| Date: | 2012–05–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2012_014&r=tre |
| By: | Börjesson, Maria (KTH) |
| Abstract: | It is sometimes argued that standard state-of-practice logit based models cannot forecast the demand for substantially reduced travel times, for instance due to High Speed Rail (HSR). The present paper investigates this issue by reviewing travel time elasticities for long-distance rail travel in the literature and comparing these with elasticities observed when new HSR lines have opened. This paper also validates the Swedish official long-distance model and its forecasted demand for a proposed new HSR track, using aggregate data revealing how the air-rail modal split varies with the difference in generalized travel time between rail and air. The official linear-in-parameters long-distance model is also compared to a model applying Box-Cox transformations. The paper contributes to the empirical literature on long-distance travel, long-distance elasticities and HSR passenger demand forecasts. Results indicate that the Swedish state-of-practice model, and similar models, is indeed able to predict the demand for a HSR reasonably well. The non-linear model, however, has better model fit and slightly higher elasticities. |
| Keywords: | High speed rail; Travel demand; Forecasting; Air-rail share; Cost-benefit analysis |
| JEL: | C25 D61 J22 R41 R42 |
| Date: | 2012–05–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2012_012&r=tre |
| By: | Marco Alderighi (University of Valle d’Aosta); Marcella Nicolini (Department of Economics and Business, University of Pavia and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Milan); Claudio A. Piga (Department of Economics, Loughborough University and Rimini Centre Economic Analysis) |
| Abstract: | Based on two strands of theoretical research, this paper provides new evidence on how fares are jointly affected by in-flight seat availability and purchasing date. As capacity-driven theories predict, it emerges that fares monotonically and substantially increase with the flights occupancy rate. Moreover, as suggested in the literature on intertemporal price discrimination, the adoption of advance purchase discounts is widespread as the departure date nears, but it may be part of a U-shaped temporal profile, where discounts are preceded by periods of relatively higher fares. Finally, the intervention of yield management analysts appears to play a substantial role. |
| Keywords: | Pricing policy, Panel Data, Ryanair, Yield Management. |
| JEL: | D22 L11 L93 |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pav:wpaper:171&r=tre |
| By: | Nag, Bodhibrata |
| Abstract: | Indian Railways is one of the world’s largest public sector organizations. Its network, traffic, organization and extent of vertical integration are gigantic. This paper undertakes a critical examination of its procurement process to understand the procedures and institutional mechanisms which have evolved over time for safeguarding institutional interests. The paper examines issues such as organizational structure, procurement organization, source selection methodology, procurement oversight and regulation and their impact on the economy, efficiency, transparency and accountability aspects of procurement. It is found that a unique combination of internal vigil, external oversight by independent bodies and organizational characteristics contribute to robust procurement processes. |
| Keywords: | procurement; public systems; India; oversight; transport |
| JEL: | H83 H76 |
| Date: | 2012–05–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:38579&r=tre |
| By: | Muthupandian, K S; Vijayakumar , Dr. C |
| Abstract: | Transport plays an important role in the economic development of the country by creating employment opportunities and sustaining economic activities. The quest for service quality has been an essential strategic component for service firms like buses attempting to succeed and survive in today’s competitive environment. The SERVQUAL model focuses on the difficulty in ensuring a high quality of service for all customers in all situations. SERVQUAL methodology is an analytical approach for evaluating the difference between customers' expectations and perceptions of quality. A comparison of passengers’ perceptions of service quality with their expectations, using paired t-test, showed a statistically not significant difference on all of the 25 attributes examined in this study. |
| Keywords: | Public Transportation; Service Quality; SERVQUAL; Gap Analysis |
| JEL: | L91 |
| Date: | 2012–01–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:38584&r=tre |
| By: | Krüger, Niclas (VTI) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between infrastructure investments and economic activity in Sweden for the period 1800-2000. In order to overcome the problem of endogeneity, independent time scales are used to analyze the relationship. The paper also examines the dynamics between the variables by testing for causality in the Granger sense and constructing a vector autoregressive model separately for each time scale. The finding is that the causality nexus between growth and transport infrastructure investment is timescale-dependent since it reverses in a comparison of the short-run dynamics (2-4 years) and the longer-run dynamics (8-16 years). This causality reversal is unique for infrastructure investments compared to investments in other sectorsof the economy. |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure; GDP growth; Investment; Time scale decomposition |
| JEL: | E22 E32 N70 |
| Date: | 2012–05–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2012_015&r=tre |
| By: | Sylvain Leduc; Daniel Wilson |
| Abstract: | We examine the dynamic macroeconomic effects of public infrastructure investment both theoretically and empirically, using a novel data set we compiled on various highway spending measures. Relying on the institutional design of federal grant distributions among states, we construct a measure of government highway spending shocks that captures revisions in expectations about future government investment. We find that shocks to federal highway funding has a positive effect on local GDP both on impact and after 6 to 8 years, with the impact effect coming from shocks during (local) recessions. However, we find no permanent effect (as of 10 years after the shock). Similar impulse responses are found in a number of other macroeconomic variables. The transmission channel for these responses appears to be through initial funding leading to building, over several years, of public highway capital which then temporarily boosts private sector productivity and local demand. To help interpret these findings, we develop an open economy New Keynesian model with productive public capital in which regions are part of a monetary and fiscal union. We show that the presence of productive public capital in this model can yield impulse responses with the same qualitative pattern that we find empirically. |
| JEL: | E62 H54 R11 |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18042&r=tre |