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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Bruce A. Babcock (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)); Sebastien Pouliot (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)) |
| Abstract: | In a recent paper, we estimated the potential demand for ethanol consumed in E85 using an estimated distribution of E85 acceptance by consumers and by calculating the average distance that owners of flex vehicles would have to drive to find an existing gas station that sells the fuel. Two issues that we did not address that will help determine how much E85 will actually be consumed in the future are: (a) the impact on demand from an increase in the number of gas stations that sell E85, and (b) sales capacity constraints at individual stations. It is reasonable to expect that owners of flex vehicles will seek out E85 if the cost per mile traveled with E85 is lower than with regular gasoline. However, there is a practical limit on how much fuel an individual station can sell in a given period. The quantities of ethanol use that we projected when E85 is discounted would exceed the volume that average gasoline stations can actually sell. Not taking these practical limits into account overstates the amount of ethanol that actually would be sold |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:13-pb12&r=tre |
| By: | Mondschein, Andrew Samuel |
| Abstract: | Transportation planning research addresses accessibility from diverse approaches, focusing varyingly on the usability of the transportation system as a whole, a particular mode, the pattern of land uses, or the wherewithal of individuals and communities to make use of those systems. One aspect of accessibility that has received relatively little attention from planners is its cognitive, experiential aspect. Individuals’ activity and travel choices require not just money and time but also information about opportunities in the city. This component of an individual’s accessibility is highly personal but also dependent on the terrain of land uses and transportation options shaped by planners and policymakers. I seek to extend current accessibility research, addressing shortcomings in how the literature deals with individual experience of the city and knowledge. Through a series of empirical analyses of activity patterns and cognitive maps of theLos Angeles region, I explore the factors that shape individual accessibility. The first analysis investigates the spatial nature of personal cities, using the activity spaces of respondents to explore the types of opportunities that different populations within a city can access. The second demonstrates the differences – depending on mode of travel – among individuals’ perceptions of the city, even when location is held constant. The third analysis continues an exploration of the personal city by considering its fundamental components. Overall, the analyses support the relevance of the personal city framework to accessibility research, highlighting in particular that planning interventions are filtered through experiential and cognitive processes. The findings highlight that the accessibility impacts of transportation and land use patterns are felt not just in the instantaneous calculations of a microeconomic choice framework, but also in the long-term, developmental processes of cognition and experience. For urban planners, the implications of this research include evidence of how the built environment can effectively reduce travel while maintaining accessibility and how different transportation modes afford varying levels of functional accessibility. Overall, I find that experience, information, and learning are elements of urban daily life traditionally neglected by planners but with potential to increase opportunity and accessibility for diverse urban populations. |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences, urban planning, travel choice, accessibility |
| Date: | 2013–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:uctcwp:qt7014d9cg&r=tre |
| By: | Yuntong Wang (Department of Economics, University of Windsor) |
| Abstract: | An airline lands in a number of airports in a region. An airport serves a number of airlines. Each airport charges a given amount of emission fees to those airlines using the airport. The total emission fees from all airports in the region must be shared among all airlines. We propose an axiomatic approach to this airline emission fees problem. We suggest a sharing rule called the Decomposition rule that is based on a few simple axioms. The Decomposition rule coincides with the Shapley value of the game associated with the problem and is shown in the core. Thus, no alliance of airlines can reduce their emission fees by forming an independent coalition. On the other hand, we also show that the Decomposition rule is split-proof. In other words, no airline has an incentive to split into two or more airlines. |
| Keywords: | Airline emission fees; Shapley value; core; split-proofness. |
| JEL: | C71 D61 D62 |
| Date: | 2013–08–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wis:wpaper:1308&r=tre |
| By: | Matthew Ryan (The University of Auckland); Flávio Menezes (School of Economics, The University of Queensland) |
| Abstract: | The winners of auctions for PPP contracts, especially for major infrastructure projects such as highways, often enter financial distress, requiring the concession to either be re-allocated or re-negotiated. We build a simple model to identify the causes and consequences of such problems. In the model, firms bid toll charges for a fixed-term high- way concession, with the lowest bid winning the auction. The winner builds and operates the highway for the fixed concession period. Each bidder has a privately known construction cost and there is common uncertainty regarding the level of demand that will result for the com- pleted highway. Because it is costly for the Government to re-assign the concession, it is exposed to a hold-up problem, which bidders can exploit through the strategic use of debt. Each firm chooses its finan- cial structure to provide optimal insurance against downside demand risk: the credible threat of default is used to extort an additional transfer payment from the Government. We derive the optimal finan- cial structure and equilibrium bidding behaviour and show that (i) the auction remains efficient, but (ii) bids are lower than they would be if all bidders were cash financed, and (iii) the more efficient the winning firm, the more likely it is to require a Government bail-out. |
| Date: | 2013–08–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qld:uq2004:484&r=tre |
| By: | Raphaëlle Ducret (CGS - Centre de Gestion Scientifique - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris); Loïc Delaître (CAOR - Centre de CAO et Robotique - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris) |
| Abstract: | Urban freight transport takes an increasingly important place in the urban mobility strategy. Experiments to optimize the movement of goods inside the city do not miss. Many relate to traditional goods, without being concerned with an activity in particular, others on the contrary target a precise sector i.e. fresh products, spare parts, etc. Since few years, new actors based on innovative scheme of distribution for the last-miles are merging, in the urban parcel distribution in particular. The whole actors and theirs strategies are changing to be nearer to the customer demand, shaping new logistic organisations. The purpose of this paper is to give an updated overview of the urban parcel delivery sector in France and some elements to discuss about the changes and new opportunities in this particular sector. |
| Keywords: | urban parcel distribution, CEP service providers, urban logistics, logistic organisations and strategies, actors game |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00853932&r=tre |
| By: | Ben Ammar, Semir; Eling, Martin |
| Abstract: | The risk of infrastructure firms is driven by unique factors that cannot be well described by standard asset class factor models. We thus create a seven-factor model based on infrastructure-specific risk exposure, i.e., market risk, cash flow volatility, leverage, investment growth, term risk, default risk, and regulatory risk. We empirically test our model on a large dataset of U.S. infrastructure stocks in different subsectors (utility, telecommunication, and transportation) and over a long period of time (1980 to 2011). The new factor model is able to capture the variation of infrastructure returns better than the Fama/French three-factor or the Carhart four-factor models. Thus, our model helps to better determine the cost of capital of infrastructure firms, something that is increasingly relevant in light of the growing need for privately financed infrastructure projects. |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure, Asset class, Factor model, Fama/French factors, Leverage, Cash ow volatility, Investment factor. |
| JEL: | G11 G12 G19 O18 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usg:sfwpfi:2013:07&r=tre |
| By: | Åslund, Olof (Uppsala Center for Labor Studies); Engdahl, Mattias (Uppsala Center for Labor Studies) |
| Abstract: | We study the labor market impact of opening borders to low-wage countries. The analysis exploits time and regional variation provided by the 2004 EU enlargement in combination with transport links to Sweden from the new member states. The results suggest an adverse impact on earnings of present workers in the order of 1 percent in areas close to pre-existing ferry lines. The effects are present in most segments of the labor market but tend to be greater in groups with weaker positions. The impact is also clearer in industries which have received more workers from the new member states, and for which across-the-border work is likely to be more common. There is no robust evidence on an impact on employment or wages. At least part of the effects is likely due to channels other than the ones typically considered in the literature. |
| Keywords: | migration policy; immigration; labor market outcomes |
| JEL: | J16 J31 J61 |
| Date: | 2013–04–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:uulswp:2013_009&r=tre |
| By: | Robert Baumann (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross); Victor Matheson (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross) |
| Abstract: | Countries vigorously compete for sports mega-events in hopes of generating an economic impact during the event but also long-term growth induced by the hallmark event. It is well understood that the economic legacy depends on the infrastructure that not only facilitates the games but also has far broader implications for sustainable economic activity in the host city’s economy. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the extent to which developing and developed countries adopt different strategies as it related to the composition of infrastructure enhancements that have implications for the generation of an economy legacy from the mega-sports event. |
| Keywords: | sports, stadiums, development, impact analysis, Olympics, World Cup, tourism |
| JEL: | L83 O18 R53 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hcx:wpaper:1305&r=tre |
| By: | Thêmis Aragão (Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg); Wolfgang Maennig (Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg) |
| Abstract: | These events promise to improve the urban quality of life and to induce social legacy because of investments in urban infrastructure, transportation, and sporting facilities. Our analysis of the case of Brazil, especially in Rio de Janeiro (host of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games) shows that such benefits may differ locally and may accentuate the process of socio-spatial segregation. Urban projects often include forced evictions of low-income populations and the consequent expansion of social segregation. In public opinion, mega events are also responsible for increasing rents and (real estate) prices. However, such inflationary phenomenon occurs in most Brazilian cities, including non-host cities. The appreciation of real estate is explained largely by population and economic growth and the reduction of interest rates through mortgage programs, as well as reduced social inequality. Public investments in mega events account for only approximately 0.15% of Brazilian GDP from 2007 to 2016 and are thus too small to be responsible for the (increasing) social problems. Obviously, the perceived lack of public accountability for mega event finances as well as the perceived lack of susceptibility to social issues by the mega sporting projects may harm the public opinion of mega events. International sporting federations should thus have every interest in ensuring that their mega events target social inclusion and pay more attention to the needs of local urban and social policies. |
| Keywords: | Housing Prices, Real Estate, FIFA World Cup, Olympics, Mega Sporting Events, Rio de Janeiro 2016, Urban Planning, Accountability |
| Date: | 2013–08–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hce:wpaper:047&r=tre |
| By: | Debing Ni (School of Management, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China); Yuntong Wang (Department of Economics, University of Windsor) |
| Abstract: | This paper considers the cost sharing problem on a fixed tree network. It provides a characterization of the family of cost sharing methods satisfying the axioms of Additivity and the Independence of Irrelevant Costs. Additivity is a classical axiom. The Independence of Irrelevant Costs axiom is new and replaces the traditional Dummy axiom to capture the network structure of the model. |
| Keywords: | Cost sharing; tree network. |
| JEL: | C71 D70 |
| Date: | 2013–08–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wis:wpaper:1307&r=tre |