|
on Transport Economics |
| By: | Firman Permana Wandani (Ministry of Public Works); Yuichiro Yoshida (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the dimensions of private vehicles’ trips on national roads between neighboring cities in Indonesia using the spatial lag model and the spatial error model approach to reveal the spatial correlations among cities. Private vehicles are defined as privately owned automobiles and motorcycles, and vehicle trips or usage levels are defined in terms of vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT) for both types of private vehicles. The paper finds that motorcycle trips are characteristically local because there is no sign of a spatial correlation with neighboring cities for those trips; by contrast, automobile trips often cross city boundaries, although the models constructed in this study demonstrate only weak spatial correlations among neighboring cities for automobile trips. The models also indicate that the road capacity, gasoline prices, gross domestic regional product per capita, population density, city size, number of public buses, and worker resident density have a significant effect on VKT for both cars and motorcycles. Therefore, these findings suggest that in general, the design of urban transportation policies on national roads could be less complex in Indonesian cities because local solutions may be effective for solving traffic problems in individual cities. |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ngi:dpaper:12-19&r=tre |
| By: | Rafael Lalive; Simon Luechinger; Armin Schmutzler |
| Abstract: | Many governments subsidize regional rail service as an alternative to road traffic. This paper assesses whether increases in service frequency reduce road traffic externalities. We exploit differences in service frequency growth by procurement mode following a railway reform in Germany to address endogeneity of service growth. Increases in service frequency reduce the number of severe road traffic accidents, carbon monoxide, nitrogen monoxide, nitrogen dioxide pollution and infant mortality. Placebo regressions with sulfur dioxide and ozone yield no effect. Service frequency growth between 1994 and 2004 improves environmental quality by an amount that is worth approximately 28-40 % of total subsidies. An analysis of household behavior shows that the effects of railway services on outcome variables are driven by substitution from road to rail. |
| Keywords: | Railways, pollution, procurement, accidents |
| JEL: | Q53 R41 R48 |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:econwp:110&r=tre |
| By: | Henrik Braconier; Mauro Pisu; Debra Bloch |
| Abstract: | Despite the economic importance of the road transport sector, there is no systematic cross-country evidence on the sector’s efficiency. This paper develops a conceptual framework for analysing the social efficiency of the road transport sector, including non-market inputs – such as travel time – and negative outputs – such as accidents and emissions. This framework is then used to analyse efficiency in 32 OECD countries. Data issues in terms of availability, quality and comparability are significant, and the empirical results have to be interpreted with caution. Nevertheless, there is fairly robust evidence that social efficiency is low in a number of OECD countries. The low efficiency suggests that substantial room for input savings exists in these countries. A framework for analysing how road transport policies may impact performance is developed, but a scarcity of data on policy settings currently limits the scope for empirically connecting the two.<P>Infrastructures de transport routier : performance et politiques économiques<BR>Malgré l’importance économique des transports routiers, les données sur l’efficience du secteur ne font l’objet d’aucune comparaison systématique entre les pays. Dans ce document, il est présenté un cadre conceptuel pour l’analyse de l’efficacité sociale du secteur des transports routiers, englobant des intrants non marchands (comme les temps de trajet) et des extrants négatifs (comme les accidents et les émissions). Il est ensuite recouru à ce cadre pour comparer la situation dans 32 pays de l’OCDE. D’importants problèmes se posent en termes de disponibilité, de qualité et de comparabilité des données et les résultats empiriques doivent être interprétés avec circonspection. Néanmoins, des éléments assez convaincants attestent la faiblesse de l’efficacité sociale dans un certain nombre de pays de l’OCDE, ce qui donne à penser qu’il y existe de grandes possibilités d’économies d’intrants. Il a été entrepris de définir des principes de base à suivre pour analyser les conséquences que les politiques des transports routiers peuvent avoir sur la performance, mais, faute de données suffisantes sur les cadres d’action, il n’est actuellement guère possible d’établir un lien empirique entre les deux analyses. |
| Keywords: | efficiency, infrastructure, road, benchmarking, DEA, transport policy, infrastructure, efficacité, politiques de transport, comparaison, analyse DEA, routes |
| JEL: | D61 D62 H41 H54 |
| Date: | 2013–01–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1016-en&r=tre |
| By: | Javier Asensio (Department of Applied Economics, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) and Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB)); Andrés Gómez-Lobo (Department of Economics, University of Chile); Anna Matas (Department of Applied Economics (UAB) and IEB) |
| Abstract: | Using a panel of 48 provinces for four years we empirically analyze a series of temporary policies aimed at curbing fuel consumption implemented in Spain between March and June 2011. The first policy was a reduction in the speed limit in highways. The second policy was an increase in the biofuel content of fuels used in the transport sector. The third measure was a reduction of 5% in commuting and regional train fares that resulted in two major metropolitan areas reducing their overall fare for public transit. The results indicate that the speed limit reduction in highways reduced gasoline consumption by between 2% and 3%, while an increase in the biofuel content of gasoline increased this consumption. This last result is consistent with experimental evidence that indicates that mileage per liter falls with an increase in the biofuel content in gasolines. As for the reduction in transit fares, we do not find a significant effect for this policy. However, in specifications including the urban transit fare for the major cities in each province the estimated cross-price elasticity of the demand for gasoline -used as a proxy for car use- with respect to the price of transit is within the range reported in the literature. This is important since one of the main eficiency justification for subsidizing public transit rests on the positive value of this parameter and most of the estimates reported in the literature are quite dated. |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uab:wprdea:wpdea1303&r=tre |
| By: | AWASTHI Anjali; OMRANI Hichem; GERBER Philippe |
| Abstract: | Confronted with negative environmental impacts, rising fuel costs and increas-ing congestion, many cities are implementing sustainable mobility measures to improve the flow of passenger and goods. Examples of these measures are use of public transport, cycling, walking, energy efficient vehicles, biofuels. The challenge before transport decision makers is which one(s) to choose for im-plementation as often there is no or limited quantitative data available on the subject. Moreover, the context of each city, its geographic and transport condi-tions restrict the generalization of results obtained in experienced cities. In this paper, we investigate four multicriteria decision making (MCDM) techniques namely TOPSIS, VIKOR, SAW and GRA for sustainability evaluation of urban mobility projects under qualitative data and demonstrate their application through a numerical example. |
| Keywords: | Multicriteria decision making; GRA; Urban Mobility; SAW; Sustainability Evaluation; Fuzzy Numbers; TOPSIS; VIKOR |
| JEL: | C60 D80 R40 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irs:cepswp:2013-01&r=tre |
| By: | Li, Shu; Thurman, Walter N. |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effects of waterway transportation costs on the spatial distribution of corn prices at U.S. grain markets. Interregional trade theory predicts that in a competitive market price differences between markets are explained by transportation cost. The precise role played by transportation costs can depend on distances that grain needs to travel and also on the extent to which markets are integrated into the transportation system. The Mississippi waterway consists of an efficient barge transportation system that links the Midwest to the largest grain export market, the Gulf of Mexico. In markets with export to the Gulf, we predict that: (1) the magnitude of price differences between two markets increases with an exogenous increase in barge rates; (2) the response of prices to barge rate changes for markets on the river is greater the farther north, or upstream, the market is; (3) the magnitude of the barge-rate effect on prices declines with distance from the market to the river; (4) the barge-rate effect is less pronounced in markets that are less integrated into the river system. We develop theory-based predictions along these lines. We test the predictions and measure the associated effects with a mixture of parametric and nonparametric methods applied to a rich panel data set of corn prices from over one thousand locations. |
| Keywords: | Transport, Spatial Basis, Corn Prices, Mississippi River, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea13:143054&r=tre |
| By: | Nadine Heitmann |
| Abstract: | The European Union (EU) is actively campaigning for the global regulation of carbon emissions generated by maritime bunker fuels because these emissions are presently barely regulated and are projected to increase significantly in the coming decades. However, since a global regulation has not been reached yet, the EU is seeking ways to include the shipping sector in its greenhouse gas reduction commitment for 2020. In this paper, we look at the effect of including the shipping sector’s emissions in the EU reduction commitment that is based on the nationality of a ship. Emissions that are generated by ships owned, operated or flagged by the 27 EU countries are allocated to the EU total GHG emissions. We first analyse the effects on the reduction commitment caused by the three allocations. We then use marginal abatement cost curves (MACCs) in order to determine how much the shipping sector of the 27 EU countries, defined by the three allocations, could contribute efficiently to a total given emission reduction target for all sectors in the EU. Moreover, we use MACCs in order to determine if some country fleets could reduce emissions in the shipping sector relatively more efficiently than other countries under a given emission reduction target for all sectors. Our findings indicate that the shipping sector could contribute efficiently to the EU’s emission reductions by up to 8.5%. Since the composition of the individual country fleets and applied measures are similar across countries, their individual reductions relative to their fleet-specific business-as-usual (BAU) emissions are on average the same |
| Keywords: | EU, climate change, shipping sector, CO2 emissions, marginal abatement cost curve |
| JEL: | Q52 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1824&r=tre |
| By: | TANAKA Ayumu |
| Abstract: | Using new data that tabulate the number of nights spent by visitors in each prefecture and locational Gini coefficients, this study provides the first empirical evidence that foreign travelers concentrate their visits to Japan in extremely few locations. Moreover, the concentration in travel destinations is far greater for foreign travelers than for Japanese ones, and the degree of geographic concentration varies according to their nationality. In addition, this study employs gravity equations to examine the factors that determine the number of nights that foreign visitors spend in each prefecture. Empirical results suggest that visa policy, transportation infrastructure, and natural and cultural factors along with traditional gravity variables such as distance and economic size play a role in international travel to Japanese prefectures. |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:13008&r=tre |
| By: | Klaus Schöler |
| Abstract: | For a long period the models of spatial pricing were developed and connected with the famous names of Wilhelm Launhardt und August Lösch. These approaches take the spatial dimension of pricing into account in partial analytical models. This publication discusses monopoly, monopolistic competition, and international trade. The reader will get a greater insight into the basic models and more complex structures. |
| Keywords: | spatial pricing, spatial discriminatory pricing, spatial monopoly, international spatial trade |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pot:psrawi:04&r=tre |
| By: | Pinka Chatterji; Sara Markowitz |
| Abstract: | Cycling is popular among children, but results in thousands of injuries annually. In recent years, many states and localities have enacted bicycle helmet laws. We examine direct and indirect effects of these laws on injuries. Using hospital-level panel data and triple difference models, we find helmet laws are associated with reductions in bicycle-related head injuries among children. However, laws also are associated with decreases in non-head cycling injuries, as well as increases in head injuries from other wheeled sports. Thus, the observed reduction in bicycle-related head injuries may be due to reductions in bicycle riding induced by the laws. |
| JEL: | I0 K0 |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18773&r=tre |