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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Kihm, Alex; Vance, Colin |
| Abstract: | Drawing on a data set containing 371,082 observations on new and used cars from 2008, this study employs a hedonic model to estimate the determinants of prices in the primary and secondary car markets in Germany. We are specifically interested in identifying those vehicle attributes that are responsible for retaining the car's value in the used car market. Beyond parameterizing the influence of technical features and brand name on the retail price, our model simultaneously generates a corresponding set of parameter estimates for the used car price, thereby allowing us to formally compare their magnitudes across the two markets. This comparison reveals that fuel consumption, in particular, is an important determinant of the price, one whose impact is higher in magnitude in the used car market than in the new car market. Large heterogeneity in how cars hold their investment value is also seen to depend on body type and brand/model name. |
| Keywords: | retail prices,used car prices,hedonic model,Germany |
| JEL: | M31 R41 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:521&r=tre |
| By: | Francois J Stofberg and Jan H van Heerden |
| Abstract: | TERM[1] is used to analyse the short term regional economic impact of an increase in industries’ transport costs when paying E-Tolls. Market-clearing and accounting equations allow regional economies to be represented as an integrated framework; labour adjusts to accommodate increasing transportation costs, and investments change to accommodate capital that is fixed.[2] We concluded that costs from levying E-Tolls on industries are relatively small in comparison to total transport costs, and the impact on economic aggregates and most industries are negligible: investments (-0.404%), GDP (-0.01), CPI (-0.10%). This is true even when considering costs and benefits on industries as well as consumers. Industries that experienced the greatest decline in output were transport, construction, and gold. Provinces which are closer to Gauteng, and have a greater share of severely impacted industries, experienced larger GDP and real income reductions. Mpumalanga’s decrease in GDP was 17% greater than Gauteng’s.[1] “TERM†is an acronym for “The enormous regional modelâ€, for simplicity we refer to the TERM model.[2] TERM is a bottom-up CGE model designed for highly disaggregated regional data. “CGE†is an acronym for Computable General Equilibrium. TERM models originate from Horridge et al. (2005) which are better explained in Horridge (2011). |
| Keywords: | Computable General Equilibrium Models, Regional Economics, Policy Modelling, Transport Cost |
| JEL: | C68 L91 R11 R48 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:515&r=tre |
| By: | Iimi,Atsushi; Humphrey,Richard Martin; Melibaeva,Sevara |
| Abstract: | Firms normally keep certain inventories, including raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods, to operate seamlessly and not to miss possible business opportunities. But inventory is costly, and the optimal firm inventory differs depending on various economic conditions, including trade and transport costs. The paper examines firm inventory behavior in East Africa, in which transport connectivity, especially to the ports, is considered as one of the major business constraints. Using firm-level data from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, it is shown that transport connectivity significantly affects firm inventory behavior. In particular, road density and transport costs to the port are important to determine the optimal inventory level. With more roads in a city and/or cheaper access to the port, firms would hold smaller inventories. |
| Keywords: | Transport Economics Policy&Planning,E-Business,Economic Theory&Research,Debt Markets,Rural Roads&Transport |
| Date: | 2015–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7280&r=tre |
| By: | Iimi,Atsushi; Humphrey,Richard Martin; Melibaeva,Sevara |
| Abstract: | Infrastructure is an important driving force for economic growth. It reduces trade and transaction costs and stimulates the productivity of the economy. Africa has been lagging behind in the global manufacturing market. Among others, infrastructure is an important constraint in many African countries. Using firm-level data for East Africa, the paper reexamines the relationship between firm performance and infrastructure. It is shown that labor costs are by far the most important to stimulate firm production. Among the infrastructure sectors, electricity costs have the highest output elasticity, followed by transport costs. In addition, the paper shows that the quality of infrastructure is important to increase firm production. In particular, quality transport infrastructure seems to be essential. The paper also finds that agglomeration economies can reduce firm costs. The agglomeration elasticity is estimated at 0.03?0.04. |
| Keywords: | Transport Economics Policy&Planning,E-Business,Energy Production and Transportation,Economic Theory&Research,Infrastructure Economics |
| Date: | 2015–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7278&r=tre |
| By: | Hiller, Norbert |
| Abstract: | Die innerstädtische Wohnstandortwahl einkommensschwacher und einkommensstarker Haushalte wird häufig mit dem monozentrischen Stadtmodell erklärt. Laut Modellbedingung muss die Einkommenselastizität der Wohnflächennachfrage größer sein als die Einkommenselastizität der Pendelkosten, damit die Armen im Stadtzentrum und die Reichen in den Vororten wohnen. Empirische Studien aus verschiedenen Ländern zeigen jedoch, dass diese Prämisse in der Realität kaum erfüllt wird. Um dieses Dilemma zu beheben, führen LeRoy und Sonstelie (1983) unterschiedliche Transporttechnologien für beide Einkommensgruppen ein. Wie in den USA (Glaeser et al. 2008a) lässt sich empirisch zeigen, dass die genutzten Transportmittel auch in Deutschland eine entscheidende Rolle bei der innerstädtischen Standortwahl armer und reicher Haushalte einnehmen. So leben einkommensschwache Haushalte aufgrund des ausgebauten öffentlichen Personennahverkehrs eher in den Stadtzentren und einkommensstarke Haushalte überwiegend in den - mit dem Automobil erreichbaren - Vororten. |
| Abstract: | The inner city residential location choice of poor and rich households is often explained by the monocentric city model. If the poor live in the city center and the rich in the suburbs, the income elasticity of demand for living space is higher than the income elasticity of commuting costs. Empirical studies show that this assumption is rarely met in reality. To resolve this dilemma, LeRoy and Sonstelie (1983) introduce different transport technologies for both income groups. As in the U.S. (Glaeser et al. 2008a) it can be empirically shown that transportation modes play a crucial role in the urban sorting of poor and rich households in German cities. Poor households prefer city centers with a good public transport system and rich households tend to live in suburbs and commute by car. |
| Keywords: | Segregation,Residential location choice,Monocentric city model |
| JEL: | R23 R40 O18 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cawmdp:82&r=tre |
| By: | Iimi,Atsushi; Humphrey,Richard Martin; Melibaeva,Sevara |
| Abstract: | Agglomeration economies are among the most important factors to increase firm productivity. However, there is little evidence supportive of this in Africa. By applying the conditional and nested logit models, this paper examines the relationship between firm locations and infrastructure accessibility in Rwanda. It is found that agglomeration economies matter to even one of the smallest countries in Africa. It is also found that infrastructure availability has an important role in affecting the firm location decision. Electricity access and transport connectivity to the domestic and international markets are found to be important to attract new investment. In addition, the quality of local labor supplied, measured by educational attainment, is found as an important determinant of firm location, while the effect of labor costs remains inconclusive. |
| Keywords: | Transport Economics Policy&Planning,E-Business,Economic Theory&Research,Private Participation in Infrastructure,Microfinance |
| Date: | 2015–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7279&r=tre |
| By: | Iimi,Atsushi; You,Liangzhi; Wood-Sichra,Ulrike; Humphrey,Richard Martin |
| Abstract: | Africa is estimated to have great potential for agricultural production, but there are a number of constraints inhibiting the development of that potential. Spatial data are increasingly important in the realization of potential as well as the associated constraints. With crop production data generated at 5-minute spatial resolution, the paper applies the spatial tobit regression model to estimate the possible impacts of improvements in transport accessibility in East Africa. It is found that rural accessibility and access to markets are important to increase agricultural production. In particular for export crops, such as coffee, tea, tobacco, and cotton, access to ports is crucial. The elasticities are estimated at 0.3?4.6. In addition, the estimation results show that spatial autocorrelation matters to the estimation results. While a random shock in a particular locality would likely affect its neighboring places, the spatial autoregressive term can be positive or negative, depending on how fragmented the current production areas are. |
| Keywords: | Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Climate Change and Agriculture,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems,Crops and Crop Management Systems,Food&Beverage Industry |
| Date: | 2015–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7281&r=tre |
| By: | Breidenbach, Philipp |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes whether the expansion of regional airports in Germany caused positive spillover effects on the surrounding economies, exploiting the deregulation of the European aviation market as a quasi-experiment. Such potential spillovers are often used as an argument for the substantial annual subsidies to airports. Previous evaluations often suffer from the problem of reverse causality, since investment decisions are based on the economic conditions of the region. By contrast, the aviation deregulation under the Single European Market-initiative provides an exogenous incentive for investing in the expansion of existing regional airports. A difference-in-differences approach is used to estimate the causal effects of this expansion on regional growth. The results are sobering, though, as there is no evidence for any positive spillover effects. |
| Abstract: | In den vergangenen Jahrzehnten wurden Millionenbeträge in den Ausbau deutscher Regionalflughäfen investiert, um modernen Ansprüchen zu genügen und vom rasanten Wachstum des Luftverkehrsmarktes zu profitieren. Im Gegensatz zu diesen großen Erwartungen sind heute fast alle Regionalflughäfen von massiven Subventionen abhängig und die Entscheidung der Europäischen Kommission, ebensolche Subventionen ab dem Jahr 2024 zu verbieten, stellt eine existenzielle Bedrohung einiger Flughäfen dar. Befürworter sehen den engen Fokus auf die direkten Verluste der Flughäfen als ungeeignet und führen positive Spillover-Effekte der Flughäfen an, die das Wachstum umliegender Regionen unterstützen. Empirische Analysen dazu vernachlässigen allerdings häufig die Endogenitätsprobleme, die vor allem darauf beruhen, dass Regionalflughäfen auch als Folge prosperierender regionalwirtschaftlicher Entwicklungen entstehen. Dieses Papier nutzt die Deregulierung des europäischen Luftfahrtmarktes als exogenen Anreiz für Investitionen und zeigt anhand eines Differenz-in-Differenzen Ansatzes, dass der massive Ausbau der Regionalflughäfen kein wirtschaftliches Wachstum in umliegenden Regionen generiert hat. Regionalflughäfen werden daher eher als Folge und nicht als Ursache regionaler Entwicklungen gesehen. |
| Keywords: | infrastructure investment,regional growth,airport effects |
| JEL: | R51 R42 H54 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:549&r=tre |
| By: | Oiste, Ana-Maria; Mihai, Florin-Constantin; Chelaru, Dan-Adrian |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a complex study of noise levels from road traffic source and the variation during the seasons in an old residential area located in the north-eastern part of Iasi city, an important educational and cultural centre of the country. The study reveal the correlation between noise levels and social activities developed in the area: low number of inhabitants because of the holidays time in August and the resumption of the educational activity in autumn, including school start in September and of the university activity in October. After direct observations, the measurements were made with digital sound –level meter Quest Technologies, 1400 model in five hour intervals 7:00 - 8:00; 10:00 - 11:00; 13:30 - 14:30; 18:00 - 19:00; 19:00 - 20:00. The monitoring of Equivalent Continuous Noise Level (Leq) were made in 30 points located along the different type of roads in the second part of August – October 2009, with different admissible levels, showing the exceeding of the limit in 5 points in September and 8 points in October. It can be observed an important difference during the week in the monitoring period, between Monday to Friday and the week-end with lower values 59.64 - 6.5 dB (A) in August, 61.98 - 5.14 dB (A) in September, 63.9 - 5.3 dB (A) in October and among the four street categories with major differences between first category: 66.89 dB (A) and fourth category 47.69 dB (A), so that urban noise can be stratified according to a prior classification of a town’s streets due to their use and functional characteristics. Sound levels monitoring and statistical data processing (Pearson correlation coefficient, Tukey range test) sustain the fact that road traffic is main source of noise in the area, differentiated in correlation with street category, a decrease in noise with increasing street category, with insignificant differences between first and second street category thank to the best management and traffic control. |
| Keywords: | admissible levels; Iasi city: noise; residential area; seasonal variation |
| JEL: | I18 Q51 Q52 Q53 Q56 Q58 R00 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:64781&r=tre |
| By: | Antonio Estache |
| Abstract: | This short paper takes stock of our collective knowledge on the importance of corruption in the infrastructure. It covers the measurement, the effects on the sector performance and the interactions with other sectors. It concludes with a few recommendations for the international community. |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/174923&r=tre |
| By: | Kitlinski, Tobias |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effects of public investment in infrastructure on private output for Germany. Using a multivariate framework we explore the impact of a diverging selection of variables on the ensuing estimates and document confidence intervals computed following the bootstrap procedure. Our results suggest that the effect of public investment in infrastructure is positive on GDP and private investment while the labor market is negatively affected. However, the size of the estimated effects strongly depends on the choice of the variables. Furthermore, an investigation of a recursive estimation reveals that the estimated effects decrease over time. |
| Abstract: | In diesem Papier wird die Wirkung von Verkehrsinfrastrukturinvestitionen auf die deutsche Gesamtwirtschaft untersucht. Dabei wird ein multivariater Ansatz gewählt und der Einfluss von einer unterschiedlichen Wahl von Variablen auf die anschließende Schätzung der Effekte analysiert. Zudem werden Konfidenzintervalle auf Grundlage von einem 'bootstrapping' Ansatz berechnet. Es zeigt sich, dass Verkehrsinfrastrukturinvestitionen einen positiven Effekt auf das Bruttoinlandsprodukt und die privaten Investitionen haben. Dagegen ist der Effekt für den Arbeitsmarkt negativ. Im Allgemeinen hängt die Größe der Effekte von der Wahl der Variablen ab. Zudem zeigt sich durch eine rekursive Schätzung, dass die Effekte im Zeitablauf abnehmen. |
| Keywords: | Public investment,infrastructure,vector autoregressive models,cointegration |
| JEL: | E6 H54 R4 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:560&r=tre |
| By: | Droste, Nils; Meya, Jasper N. |
| Abstract: | We study the incorporation of ecosystem services in German water infrastructure planning exemplified by a projected deepening of the Lower Weser river channel. Therefore, we recalculate the project's benefit-cost ratio by integrating the monetary value of changes in different ecosystem services: i) the restoration costs of a planned mitigation measure for a loss in fresh water supply for agricultural production in the estuary, ii) costs of loss in habitat services by transferring the willingness to pay between a contingent valuation study to the area assessed in the environmental impact assessment, and iii) the benefits of emission savings induced by more efficient shipping taking a marginal abatement cost approach. We find that the inclusion of monetary values for ecosystem service changes leads to a substantial drop in the benefit-cost ratio and consequently argue for a reform of the standard to facilitate more complete welfare assessments. |
| Keywords: | ecosystem services,cost-benefit analysis,infrastructure planning,river deepening,Germany |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ufzdps:82015&r=tre |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Regional and Sustainable Development Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Regional and Sustainable Development Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | The transport sector is key to the continued economic development of Asia and the Pacific. By improving connectivity and making the movement of goods and people more affordable, transport contributes to economic growth, efficiency, and competitiveness while providing poor people with access to economic opportunities and services. Various components of the transport infrastructure are exposed and vulnerable to climate change. This is of particular concern to countries in Asia and the Pacific which will experience significant adverse impacts from a changing climate. The Asian Development Bank has put in place a systematic framework guiding the conduct of climate risk and vulnerability assessments of investment projects. Ongoing initiatives will address some of the key challenges encountered when conducting climate risk and vulnerability assessments, including access to readily available climate change information. |
| Keywords: | climate change; adaptation; climate technology |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt146741-2&r=tre |