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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Wolff, Hendrik (University of Washington) |
| Abstract: | Spatial distribution and leakage effects are of great policy concern and increasingly discussed in the economics literature. Here we study Europe's most aggressive recent air pollution regulation: Low Emission Zones are areas in which vehicular access is allowed only to vehicles that emit low levels of air pollutants. Using new administrative datasets from Germany, we assess the distribution of air pollution and the spatial substitution effects in green versus dirty vehicles. We find that LEZs decrease air pollution by around nine percent in urban traffic centers while pollution is unchanged in non-traffic areas. These results are driven by our finding that vehicle owners have an incentive to adopt cleaner technologies the closer they live to an LEZ. We reject the widespread concern that dirty vehicles contribute to higher pollution levels by increasingly driving longer routes outside of the LEZ. Back of the envelope calculations suggest that the health benefits of roughly two billion dollars have come at a cost of just over 1 billion dollars for upgrading the fleet of vehicles. Moreover, we find that non-attainment cities that decided not to include an LEZ but engaged in other methods (building ring roads, enhancing public transportation), experience no decrease in pollution. |
| Keywords: | low emission zones, air pollution, PM10 |
| JEL: | Q58 R48 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8180&r=tre |
| By: | Leheyda, Nina; Verboven, Frank |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of the car scrapping subsidies in Europe during the financial crisis. We make use of a rich data set of all car models sold in nine European countries, observed at a monthly level during 2005-2011. We employ a difference-in-differences approach, exploiting the fact that different countries adopted their programs at different points in time. We find that the scrapping schemes played a strong role in stabilizing total car sales in 2009: they prevented a total car sales reduction of 17.4% in countries with schemes targeted to low emission vehicles, and they prevented a 14.8% sales reduction in countries with non-targeted schemes. In contrast, the scrapping schemes only had small environmental benefits: without the schemes, average fuel consumption of new purchased cars would have been only 1.3% higher in countries with targeted schemes and 0.5% higher in countries with non-targeted schemes. We do not find evidence of crowding out due to substitution from non-eligible to eligible cars in countries with targeted schemes. Finally, we identify some competitive and trade effects from the schemes: domestic car producers benefited at the expense of foreign competitors in the countries where the schemes were not targeted. |
| Keywords: | automobile market; financial crisis; scrapping subsidies |
| JEL: | F14 H25 L52 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9629&r=tre |
| By: | Antonio Di Paolo (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona); Anna Matas (GEAP, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona); Josep Lluís Raymond (GEAP, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the effect of job accessibility by public and private transport on labour market outcomes in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. Beyond employment, we consider the effect of job accessibility on job-education mismatch, which represents a relevant aspect of job quality. We adopt a recursive system of equations that models car availability, employment and mismatch. Public transport accessibility appears as an exogenous variable in the three equations. Even though it may reflect endogenous residential sorting, falsification proofs suggest that the estimated effect of public transport accessibility is not entirely driven by the endogenous nature of residential decisions. |
| Keywords: | employment, job-education mismatch, job accessibility, public transport, Barcelona JEL classification: J61, J21, O18, P25, R41 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aqr:wpaper:201411&r=tre |
| By: | Muysken J.; Crombrugghe D.P.I. de; Celbis M.G. (UNU-MERIT) |
| Abstract: | The determinants of the regional allocation of transportation and communication investments are analysed for the twenty-six statistical regions of Turkey for the years 1999 through 2011. A unique regional GVA series covering this period is constructed for this purpose. We specifically account for the possibility of dependence between allocation decisions for different infrastructure types. Estimation results strongly suggest that political bias has been present in the allocation decisions of regional transportation and communication public investments in Turkey. Keywords Public Infrastructure; Regional Policy; Investment Allocation. |
| Keywords: | National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: Infrastructures; Other Public Investment and Capital Stock; Capitalist Systems: Political Economy; Transportation Systems: Government and Private Investment Analysis; Road Maintenance, Transportation Planning; Regional Development Planning and Policy; |
| JEL: | P16 R42 R58 H54 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2014020&r=tre |
| By: | Bird, Julia; Straub, Stéphane |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of the rapid expansion of the Brazilian road network, which occurred from the 1960s to the 2000s, on the growth and spatial allocation of population and economic activity across the country's municipalities. It addresses the problem of endogeneity in infrastructure location by using an original empirical strategy, based on the "historical natural experiment" constituted by the creation of the new federal capital city Brasília in 1960. The results reveal a dual pattern, with improved transport connections increasing concentration of economic activity and population around the main centers in the South of the country, while spurring the emergence of secondary economic centers in the less developed North, in line with predictions in terms of agglomeration economies. Over the period, roads are shown to account for half of pcGDP growth and to spur a signifficant decrease in spatial inequality. |
| Keywords: | Transport costs, Infrastructure, Roads, Brazil |
| JEL: | F15 N76 N96 O18 R11 R12 R40 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:28242&r=tre |
| By: | Satoshi Inoue (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies); Naohiko Hibino (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies); Shigeru Morichi (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies) |
| Abstract: | Ports around the world have been facilitating the economic globalization through the development of port facilities and innovative technology. It is this globalization, however, that has brought structural changes to global logistics, which in turn resulted in fundamental changes in environments of the port management, especially that of container ports. To cope with the advancement of supply chain management in particular, major container ports are taking a range of strategies to transform themselves from the traditional interface between sea and land transport into logistics center of regional supply chain systems. This study first overviews fundamental changes facing the management of container ports. Then it analizes selected cases of major container ports with respect to their logistics strategies. Finally charateristics and challegnses of such port logistics strategies are identified, followed by discussion on their implications to port management and new roles port authority is expected to play. |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ngi:dpaper:14-08&r=tre |
| By: | Woetzel, Jonathan; Pohl, Herbert |
| Abstract: | Adequate urban infrastructure can be expensive, but the costs of not delivering housing, transportation, water, sewage, public facilities, and other necessities are also high. Inadequate infrastructure slows and even reverses economic growth, driving unemployment, crime, and urban decay. It can fuel urban tensions by widening divisions among ethnic or income groups or between long-time residents and recent immigrants. And it can foster a general malaise that drains a city's vitality and spirit. One study in Africa showed that the return on investment for infrastructure was about 50 percent, based on contributions to gross domestic product (GDP), and that if investments were optimized, the return will be closer to 150 percent. This value is delivered through increased productivity and job creation, among other channels. Social benefits from improved public services and living standards are also substantial. In emerging markets, inadequate infrastructure can be a substantial barrier to growth. Adequate infrastructure reduces costs, supports economic activity, increases factor productivity in cities, and connects cities to domestic and international markets. With the staggering demand for infrastructure in emerging economies, officials will need to continue gathering as much funding as possible to meet their needs. This paper looks closer at the infrastructure needs of cities in emerging markets, based on the most recent McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) analysis. It offers practical suggestions on how to answer fundamental questions facing any government trying to get the greatest impact from limited infrastructure funds. And before concluding, it examines how cities worldwide have improved governance, institutions, processes, and capabilities to help close the infrastructure funding gap. |
| Keywords: | Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Municipal Financial Management,Urban Slums Upgrading,Urban Services to the Poor,ICT Policy and Strategies |
| Date: | 2014–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6882&r=tre |
| By: | Doucet, Romain; Margaretic, Paula; Thomas-Agnan, Christine; Villotta, Quentin |
| Abstract: | We explore the estimation of origin-destination (OD), city-pair, air passengers, in order to explicitly take into account spatial autocorrelation. To our knowledge, we are the rst to test the presence of spatial autocorrelation and apply spatial econometric OD ow models to air transport. Drawing on a world sample of 279 cities, over 2010-2012, we nd signi cant evidence of spatial autocorrelation in air passenger ows. Thus, contrary to common practice, we need to incorporate the spatial structure present in the data, when estimating OD air passengers. Importantly, failure to do it, may lead to ine¢ cient estimated coe¢ cients and prediction bias. |
| Keywords: | Spatial autocorrelation, spatial econometric origin-destination flow model, air passenger flows. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:28229&r=tre |
| By: | Siegert, Caspar; Ulbricht, Robert |
| Abstract: | We explore how pricing dynamics in the European airline industry vary with the competitive environment. Our results highlight substantial variations in pricing dynamics that are consistent with a theory of intertemporal price discrimination. First, the rate at which prices increase towards the scheduled travel date is decreasing in competition, supporting the idea that competition restrains the ability of airlines to price-discriminate. Second, the sensitivity to competition is substantially increasing in the heterogeneity of the customer base, reflecting further that restraints on price discrimination are only relevant if there is initial scope for price discrimination. These patterns are quantitatively important, explaining about 83 percent of the total within-flight price dispersion, and explaining 17 percent of the observed cross-market variation of pricing dynamics. |
| Keywords: | Airline industry; capacity constraints; dynamic oligopoly pricing; intertemporal price dispersion; price discrimination |
| JEL: | D43 D92 L11 L93 |
| Date: | 2014–03–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trf:wpaper:463&r=tre |
| By: | Nico Voigtlaender; Hans-Joachim Voth |
| Abstract: | Can infrastructure investment win “hearts and minds”? We analyze a famous case in the early stages of dictatorship – the building of the motorway network in Nazi Germany. The Autobahn was one of the most important projects of the Hitler government. It was intended to reduce unemployment, and was widely used for propaganda purposes. We examine its role in increasing support for the NS regime by analyzing new data on motorway construction and the 1934 plebiscite, which gave Hitler greater powers as head of state. Our results suggest that road building was highly effective, reducing opposition to the nascent Nazi regime. |
| JEL: | H54 N44 N94 P16 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20150&r=tre |
| By: | Cannon, Edmund (University of Bristol); Cipriani, Giam Pietro (University of Verona); Bazar-Rosen, Katia (University of Bristol) |
| Abstract: | We document a large and persistent anomaly in the UK car insurance market over the period 2012-13: insurance companies charged a higher premium for third-party (liability) insurance than comprehensive insurance (which includes third-party). Furthermore, some companies charged higher prices for comprehensive policies with larger deductibles. This evidence suggests both that consumers are too confused or too poorly informed to arbitrage and that sellers of car insurance do not implement the incentive-compatibility constraints at the heart of the adverse-selection model of insurance. This particular insurance market is much less sophisticated than that characterised by modern microeconomic theory. |
| Keywords: | car insurance, adverse selection, bounded rationality |
| JEL: | D82 G22 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8172&r=tre |
| By: | Giuseppe Calabrese (Ceris - Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth,Turin, Italy); Dan Coffey (Leeds University Business School University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT); Tommaso Pardi (Deputy director Gerpisa, CNRS-IDHE, Paris, France) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to present a comparative analysis of the Plateforme de la Filière Automobile and The British Automotive Council. The two operating structure were established respectively in France and UK to support the national automotive sectors at the dawn of the ongoing crisis. The Italian government is on the way to set up a similar structure. These operating structures can be defined as two instruments of industrial policy introduced in parallel to the classical industrial policy measures allowed by the European Union and that in some ways represent a turning point of the mode of state intervention in the real economy. The challenge is to force different actors to cooperate, not only central government and industry, but more deeply different local authorities and different automotive tiers. In so far as the roles of the different actors are balanced, dissimilar configurations of Triple Helix can be detected and, as a consequence, different evaluations can be deduced. |
| Keywords: | automotive industry, industrial policy, Europe, crisis. |
| JEL: | L52 L62 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csc:cerisp:201321&r=tre |