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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Linn, Joshua (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Increasingly stringent fuel economy standards will reduce per-mile driving costs and may raise vehicle miles traveled, which is referred to as the rebound effect. All previous estimates impose at least one of three behavioral assumptions: (a) fuel economy is uncorrelated with other vehicle attributes; (b) fuel economy is uncorrelated with attributes of other vehicles owned by the household; and (c) the effect of gasoline prices on vehicle miles traveled is inversely proportional to the effect of fuel economy. Relaxing these assumptions yields a large and robust rebound effect; a one percent fuel economy increase raises driving 0.2 to 0.4 percent. |
| Keywords: | fuel economy standards, passenger vehicles, vehicle miles traveled, household driving demand |
| JEL: | Q52 R22 R41 |
| Date: | 2013–07–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-13-19&r=tre |
| By: | Babri, Sahar (Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics); McArthur, David Philip (Dept. of Health Management and Health Economics, University of Oslo); Thorsen, Inge (Dept. of Economics, Stord/Haugesund University College); Ubøe, Jan (Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Road tolls are a well established way of dealing with problems of congestion. Over recent years, the literature has expanded to take account of how congestion charges might interact with imperfections in other markets. In this paper, we consider the case where congestion occurs within a complex road network, with congestion on multiple links. To derive a truly optimal toll, account must be taken of the entire network. As a case study, we take a stylised version of the road network in Bergen, Norway. |
| Keywords: | Congestion pricing; complex network |
| JEL: | R00 R40 R41 |
| Date: | 2013–05–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhhfms:2013_004&r=tre |
| By: | Gul, Ejaz |
| Abstract: | The number of road traffic casualties is still very lofty and the trend shows a boost with each passing day. The road traffic accidents involve fatalities due to which economic resources are damaged and the productivity of the economy is correspondingly impaired. Costs resulting from traffic accidents represent the largest single part of the overall cost of traffic to the economy. Knowledge about the harm of these traffic accidents to the economy is essential if measures to reduce road traffic accidents are to be identified and initiated. Once an economic assessment of road safety measures has been made, work on improving safety in accordance with economic criteria can be organized as efficiently as possible. Towards this end, it is necessary to opt for measures that are likely to be successful in a given situation. Current research is regarding the evaluation of road traffic safety measures in Pakistan and its economical effects based on available data. The research reveals that road accidents have key influence on the economic statistics of the country. The study presents a valuable tool for policy formulation on the road safety regulations in the country. |
| Keywords: | Economic, Evaluation, Traffic, Safety, Accidents, Statistical Analysis. |
| JEL: | D61 O18 R41 R42 |
| Date: | 2013–07–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48350&r=tre |
| By: | Manuela Alcañiz (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona); Montserrat Guillén (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona); Daniel Sánchez-Moscona (Catalan Traffic Authority); Miguel Santolino (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona); Oscar Llatje (Catalan Traffic Authority); Lluís Ramon (Catalan Traffic Authority) |
| Abstract: | Sobriety checkpoints are not usually randomly located by traffic authorities. As such, information provided by non-random alcohol tests cannot be used to infer the characteristics of the general driving population. In this paper a case study is presented in which the prevalence of alcohol-impaired driving is estimated for the general population of drivers. A stratified probabilistic sample was designed to represent vehicles circulating in non-urban areas of Catalonia (Spain), a region characterized by its complex transportation network and dense traffic around the metropolis of Barcelona. Random breath alcohol concentration tests were performed during spring 2012 on 7,596 drivers. The estimated prevalence of alcohol-impaired drivers was 1.29%, which is roughly a third of the rate obtained in non-random tests. Higher rates were found on weekends (1.90% on Saturdays, 4.29% on Sundays) and especially at night. The rate is higher for men (1.45%) than for women (0.64%) and the percentage of positive outcomes shows an increasing pattern with age. In vehicles with two occupants, the proportion of alcohol-impaired drivers is estimated at 2.62%, but when the driver was alone the rate drops to 0.84%, which might reflect the socialization of drinking habits. The results are compared with outcomes in previous surveys, showing a decreasing trend in the prevalence of alcohol-impaired drivers over time. |
| Keywords: | Breath alcohol concentration, blood alcohol content, drunk driving, sampling analysis, weights, substance abuse. JEL classification: |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:201313&r=tre |
| By: | Claude Mathys (National Bank of Belgium, 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 paper 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 2006 - 2011, with an emphasis on 2011. 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. (…) After the upturn in 2010, maritime cargo traffic in the Flemish ports continued to rise, albeit at a slower pace in 2011. Direct value added declined in the four ports in Flanders as a whole. Both maritime and non-maritime clusters as a whole were down. The only increase in value added occurred in the port of Zeebrugge. The value added of the non-maritime clusters in each port declined, while in the maritime cluster, the port of Antwerp was the only one to register a steep drop. Direct employment in the Flemish ports as a whole declined during the year 2011. This is true of both the maritime and non-maritime cluster. Only the port of Ghent registered a rise in employment in both clusters. Investment contracted in the Flemish ports as a whole for the third year in a row. The decline in investment was between 7 and 13 percent in the ports of Antwerp, Ghent and Ostend, whereas Zeebrugge recorded a negative rate of one-fifth in its investment levels in 2011. The volume of cargo handled in the port of Liège increased slightly in 2011. Direct value added rose in both clusters, while employment registered a decline in the maritime cluster and a rise in the nonmaritime cluster. After falling in 2010, investment picked up again in 2011 in both clusters. The volume of cargo handled at the port of Brussels rose in 2011. Value added in the maritime cluster was up but contracted in the non-maritime cluster. Employment increased in both clusters. The drop in investment recorded since 2009 continued throughout 2011. 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 2011. |
| Keywords: | branch survey, maritime cluster, subcontracting, indirect effects, transport, intermodality, public investments |
| JEL: | C67 H57 J21 L22 L91 L92 R15 R34 R41 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbb:docwpp:201307-12&r=tre |
| By: | Christian Ambrosini (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Université Lumière - Lyon II); Jesus Gonzalez-Feliu (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Université Lumière - Lyon II); Florence Toilier (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Université Lumière - Lyon II) |
| Abstract: | Urban goods movement modelling is a popular subject in urban logistics research. However, most models remain under-used because practitioners have difficulties to apply them to simulate urban policies and their impacts on transport flows, mainly when the assessed situations are different from the initial usage of the mode. This paper aims to answer to that issue by proposing a methodology of scenario construction and assessment using current models and tools. The methodological contribution of the paper arises on defining the main elements of a policy-based scenario and on developing a procedure to build the inputs a model needs to simulate the impacts of policy-oriented strategies on urban goods transport flows. First, the main elements policy makers can take into account when defining middle term strategies are identified. Then, a scenario construction procedure is proposed, able to build reference scenarios and trend scenarios. An example for the urban area of Lyon is proposed. According to the reference scenario, it becomes possible to compare and understand urban goods movement changes, by implementing the model introducing variations, such as activity relocation or urban distribution centre whose impacts concern not only the freight flows themselves but also the whole urban logistics organisation. In this way, the proposed methodology is adapted to policy-oriented strategic and tactical planning, mainly for public stakeholders. |
| Keywords: | Urban goods movement; transport modelling; scenario construction; urban policy; decision support |
| Date: | 2013–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00843286&r=tre |
| By: | McConnell, Virginia (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | New Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards were recently passed in the United States with the twin goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and oil use. The new standards represent a dramatic change from recent policy. This paper examines the key features of the new rules, and compares them to previous CAFE standards in terms of flexibility and structure. The importance of consumer preferences and market forces on CAFE outcomes are identified. In the second part of the paper, the perspective of the consumer is explored. Consumer assessments of fuel economy savings with more fuel-efficient vehicles may be biased or incomplete, leading many to argue that there is an “energy efficiency gap” in consumer demand for vehicles. Reasons for such a gap, such as market failures, behavioral responses, and market barriers, are summarized. The implications for policy are discussed, including the role of combining CAFE with other policies. |
| Keywords: | CAFE, vehicle regulation, energy efficiency, environmental policy |
| JEL: | Q42 Q48 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2013–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-13-14&r=tre |
| By: | Jesus Gonzalez-Feliu (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Université Lumière - Lyon II); Pierre Basck (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Université Lumière - Lyon II); Eleonora Morganti (IFSTTAR/AME/SPLOTT - Systèmes Productifs, Logistique, Organisation des Transports et Travail - IFSTTAR - PRES Université Paris-Est) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the main issues related to the financing of urban logistics solutions, more precisely to the contribution of economic analysis on strategic decision support related for urban logistics financing, focusing on cost benefit analysis. First we present the main funding strategies in urban economics, mainly in the field of urban logistics. Second we address the contribution of cost benefit analysis by recalling the main methodology and adapting it to urban logistics. Third we apply the method to the example of deploying a delivery space booking network, and illustrate the application via a set of three examples containing different situations and scenarios, which are presented, assessed and discussed. From the different simulations, it is observed that the way the system is financed has strong impacts on both its individual cost (for potential users) and its attractiveness. |
| Keywords: | Urban logistics services; refunding strategies; cost-benefit analysis; scenario assessment |
| Date: | 2013–07–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00843282&r=tre |
| By: | Jesus Muñuzuri (Departamento de ingenieria de la organizacion 2 - Universidad de Sevilla (SPAIN)); Jesus Gonzalez-Feliu (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Université Lumière - Lyon II) |
| Abstract: | Urban logistics research set off in Europe some fifteen years ago, supported by the funding efforts of the European Commission. The special morphology of European cities, with narrow streets and historical centres which had to be preserved in many cases as world heritage sites, contributed to this interest. However, the problems of urban deliveries also had to be faced in other lively and congested cities around the globe, from Japan to America or Australia. Therefore, several researchers and practitioners have developed in the last years a wide variety of methods to support the different decisions of stakeholders involved in urban logistics. This paper motivates and introduces the Special Issue of European Transport/Trasporti Europei on decision support for urban logistics. The ten proposed papers are classified and presented. |
| Keywords: | urban logistics; decision support; introduction; country-approach |
| Date: | 2013–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00843287&r=tre |
| By: | Alfonso Irarrazabal; Andreas Moxnes; Luca David Opromolla |
| Abstract: | Casual empiricism suggests that additive trade costs, such as quotas, per-unit tariffs, and, in part, transportation costs, are prevalent. In spite of this, we have no broad and systematic evidence of the magnitude of these costs. We develop a new empirical framework for estimating additive trade costs from standard firm-level trade data. Our results suggest that additive barriers are on average 14 percent, expressed relative to the median price. The point estimates are strongly correlated with common proxies for trade costs. Using our micro estimates, we show that a reduction in additive trade costs produces much higher welfare gains and growth in trade flows than a similar reduction in multiplicative trade costs. |
| JEL: | F1 F10 F14 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19236&r=tre |