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on Transport Economics |
| By: | M. Rouhani, Omid |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a brief overview of the concept of value of time (VOT), in the context of toll road schemes. VOT analysis determines the tradeoffs travelers make between time and tolls. The analysis is very important when considering the choice between tolled and un-tolled alternatives. Using travel demand model of Fresno, CA, I provide a sensitivity analysis showing how the outcomes of tolling schemes can change with varying VOT levels. |
| Keywords: | Value of time, Road pricing, Congestion pricing, Optimal toll, Profits, System-wide costs. |
| JEL: | H4 R4 R41 R42 R48 |
| Date: | 2015–06–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:65087&r=tre |
| By: | Ertan Cinar (Anadolu University); Soner Demirel (Anadolu University) |
| Abstract: | The demand of the air transportation is showing increase rapidly in Turkey. At the same time, |
| Keywords: | Airlines, websites, content analysis. |
| JEL: | R40 C40 L81 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:2503191&r=tre |
| By: | Ivaldi, Marc; Sokullu, Senay; Toru, Tuba |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the rationale of airport business models. First, it provides evidence that the airports should be considered as two sided markets because of significant network externalities between the airlines and the passengers. This result invalidates the traditional approach where the airport-airline-passenger relationship is considered as vertically integrated, taking passengers as final consumers. Second, a testing procedure aimed at eliciting the real business model of airports demonstrates that the major U.S. airports do not internalize the externalities existing between airlines and passengers. We find that these airports set profit maximizing prices for the non-aeronautical services to passengers and Ramsey prices for the aeronautical services to airlines. Given these results, we conduct a welfare analysis by simulating the implementation of profit maximizing prices when an airport fully accounts for the two-sidedness of its activities. In particular, we show that the impact on social welfare is not independent on the specific features of each airport and that the privatization of airports cannot be considered as the only solution for airports. |
| Keywords: | airport industry; two-sided markets |
| JEL: | C32 L93 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10658&r=tre |
| By: | Leard, Benjamin (Resources for the Future); Roth, Kevin |
| Abstract: | We exploit random daily variation in weather to document the relationship of temperature, rainfall, and snowfall with traffic accidents and travel demand. Using information on 46.5 million accidents from the State Data System of police reported accidents for 20 states and travel demand for 207,455 households included in the National Household Transportation Survey, we find unanticipated effects of weather on accidents and their severity. Our estimates suggest that while warmer temperatures and reduced snowfall are associated with a moderate decline in non-fatal accidents, they are also associated with a significant increase in fatal accidents. This increase in fatalities is due to a robust positive relationship between fatalities and temperature. Half of the estimated effect of temperature on fatalities is due to changes in the exposure to pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists as temperatures increase. The application of these results to middle-of-the-road climate predictions suggests that weather patterns for the end of the century would lead to 603 additional fatalities per year. Between 2010-2099, the present value social cost of all types of accidents caused by climate change is $58 billion. |
| Keywords: | traffic accidents, traffic fatalities, climate change |
| JEL: | Q58 Q52 H23 R41 |
| Date: | 2015–05–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-15-19&r=tre |
| By: | Eduardo A. Haddad; Michael Lahr, Dina N. Elshahawany, Moises Vassallo |
| Abstract: | We develop an interregional computable general equilibrium model to help assess the ex ante impact of transportation infrastructure policies in Egypt. The model is integrated with a GIS network. We illustrate the analytical capabilities of the model by looking at the domestic integration of the country. Improvements of transportation costs among Egyptian governorates and of their links to the broader world economy are considered in stylized simulations. The results provide quantitative and qualitative insights (general equilibrium effects) into trade-offs commonly faced by policy makers when dealing with transportation infrastructure projects in a spatial context. In the case of Egypt, there seems to be an important trade-off between efficiency and regional equity: projects that produce potential higher impacts on national GDP also tend to contribute more to regional concentration. |
| Keywords: | Transportation cost; infrastructure; regional analysis; spatial general equilibrium. |
| JEL: | R11 R13 R4 |
| Date: | 2015–06–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2015wpecon10&r=tre |
| By: | Frank Van Nieuwenhove (National Bank of Belgium) |
| 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 centres facilitating the commodity flow. This update paper1 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 2008 - 2013, with an emphasis on 2013. 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. The developments concerning economic activity in the six ports in 2012 - 2013 are summarised in the table on the next page. The overall decline in maritime traffic seen in the Flemish maritime ports in general in 2012, and in each individual port, was reversed in 2013, but only thanks to growth in Antwerp; the other three ports (Ghent, Ostend and Zeebrugge) experienced a further decrease. In terms of value added, the opposite occurred: a general increase, except in Antwerp, resulting in a slight rise for these ports as a whole. The employment picture was variable, but there was expansion overall, matching the growth of value added, namely 0.3 %. Finally, investment in the Flemish ports declined overall, totalling 3.2 % less in 2013 than in the previous year. In the ports of Liège and Brussels, cargo traffic and employment both declined in 2013. After the sharp fall in 2012, value added at the port of Liège edged upwards again, but in Brussels it recorded a significant decline2. Conversely, investment in Liège was down again, following the surge in 2012, whereas the port of Brussels saw a substantial increase. 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 2013. |
| Keywords: | branch survey, maritime cluster, subcontracting, indirect effects, transport, intermodality, public investments |
| JEL: | C67 H57 J21 L22 L91 L92 R15 R34 R41 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbb:reswpp:201506-283&r=tre |
| By: | Elisabetta Iossa (DEF and CEIS, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata" - IEFE-Bocconi, CEPR) |
| Abstract: | We review international practice in concession-based public private partnerships (PPPs) for highways, in the light of the economic theory of incentives, procurement and regulation. In particular, we analyse alternative funding mechanisms to cover highway costs, and their impact on demand risk allocation, incentives, cost of capital, and likelihood of renegotiation. We note how real tolls must pursue a number of contrasting objectives, which may be best served by introducing tariff discrimination. We discuss alternative tariff regulations used in practice and warn against tariff mechanisms that transfer demand risk to users and depart from the principles of price cap regulation. We highlight that it is desirable to transfer some traffic risk to the concessionaire but the level of risk transfer should be lower at the beginning of the contract, especially for greenfield projects where little demand information is initially available. We discuss the procurement of highway PPPs, focusing on the choice of the bidding variables, and on the distortions that renegotiations introduce at bidding stage. We stress the importance of strong institutions and absence of political interference in regulatory matters, and we highlight the benefit of respecting and standardizing contract terms. |
| Keywords: | contracting out, highways, incentives, procurement, regulation, transport |
| JEL: | D21 L2 L33 L5 L9 |
| Date: | 2015–06–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtv:ceisrp:345&r=tre |
| By: | Blackman, Allen (Resources for the Future); Alpizar, Francisco; Carlsson, Fredrik; Rivera Planter, Marisol |
| Abstract: | Little is known about the cost of environmental regulations such as residential zoning restrictions and recycling mandates that target households instead of firms, partly because of significant methodological and data challenges. We use a survey-based approach, the contingent valuation method, to measure the costs of Mexico City’s Day Without Driving program, which seeks to stem pollution and traffic congestion by prohibiting vehicles from being driven one day each week. To our knowledge, ours is the first study of an actual regulation to use this approach. We find that the Mexican program’s costs are substantial: up to US $103 per vehicle per year, about 1 percent of drivers’ annual income. Recent research has questioned whether programs for driving restrictions in Mexico City and several other megacities actually have environmental benefits. Our results suggest that whatever benefits these programs may have, they can be quite costly. |
| Keywords: | contingent valuation, driving restrictions, regulatory cost |
| JEL: | Q52 R48 O18 |
| Date: | 2015–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-15-21&r=tre |
| By: | Soner Demirel (Anadolu University); Ertan Cinar (Anadolu University); Medine Elif Othan (Anadolu University) |
| Abstract: | Every hour of a day, airlines make millions of flights. In this century, it is getting more and more important to manage air traffic effectively and regularly. In order to manage this job that is important and connected with the human lives directly, there are air traffic controllers in the tower or control centers. To be successful for managing this extreme and exciting air traffic, air traffic controllers have to know and apply the exact rules that have international validity. However, every process of air traffic is not very regular. There may be some problems that air traffic controllers have to solve to prevent air traffic crashes or air misses. These are called “conflict and conflict traffic”. There are some applications and solving methods in the job life. In this study, |
| Keywords: | air traffic control, conflict resolution, percentage distribution, single screening model |
| JEL: | L93 J28 C10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:2503193&r=tre |
| By: | Mathews, John |
| Keywords: | Architecture, Arts and Humanities, Engineering |
| Date: | 2015–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:uctcwp:qt9p6331b5&r=tre |
| By: | Iimi,Atsushi; Humphreys,Richard Martin; Melibaeva,Sevara |
| Abstract: | Africa has great potential for agriculture. Although international commodity prices have been buoyant, Africa?s supply response seems to be weak. A variety of constraints may exist. Using the case of Tanzania, the paper examines the impact of market connectivity, domestic and international, on farmers? crop choices. It is shown that the international market connectivity, measured by transport costs to the maritime port, is important for farmers to choose export crops, such as cotton and tobacco. Internal connectivity to the domestic market is also found to be important for growing food crops, such as maize and rice. Among other inputs, access to irrigation and improved seed availability are also important factors in the crop choices of farmers. The size of land area is one constraint to promote the crop shift. The paper also reports the finding that farmers are not using market prices effectively in their choice of crop, even after the endogeneity of local prices is taken into account. |
| Date: | 2015–06–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7306&r=tre |
| By: | Iimi,Atsushi; Humphreys,Richard Martin; Melibaeva,Sevara |
| Abstract: | Agglomeration economies are among the most important factors in increasing firm productivity. However, there is little evidence supportive of this in Africa. Using the firm registry database in Tanzania, this paper examines a new application of the logit approach with two empirical issues taken into account: spatial autocorrelation and endogeneity of infrastructure placement. The paper finds significant agglomeration economies. It is also found that firms are more likely to be located where local connectivity and access to markets are good. The paper finds that dealing with infrastructure endogeneity and spatial autocorrelation in the empirical model is important. According to the exogeneity test, infrastructure variables are likely endogenous. The spatial autoregressive term is significant. As expected, therefore, there are positive externalities of firm location choice around the neighboring areas. |
| Date: | 2015–06–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7305&r=tre |
| By: | Cristina Maria Félix Pereira (University of Évora); Maria Fátima Jorge (University of Évora); Ana Sampaio (University of Évora) |
| Abstract: | This paper resumes a literature review about safety culture as a sub dimension of organizational culture whilst exploring the straight link with organizational internal communication. The safety culture concept was introduced in final 80´s when the results of the investigation on the Chernobyl accident became a milestone due to the initial consideration of organizational factors in the accident causality chain. Since then, safety culture raised as an important dimension of organizational culture to be developed in a positive way in High Reliability Organizations (HRO) such as Air Navigation Services Providers (ANSP). The common key element linking all components of a positive safety culture is indeed the organizational internal communication which plays an essential role fostering relationships either between employees or establishing a link with management. It grants general information about safety politics, programs and essential guidelines to be implemented. It’s scope of influence reach safety reporting, human factors, training and shiftwork routines. Moreover, all safety related information e.g. feedback from safety analysis, need appropriate communication links supported by an effective safety management system. |
| Keywords: | Safety culture; Internal communication; Air navigation services. |
| JEL: | R41 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cfe:wpcefa:2015_05&r=tre |
| By: | Roy Bahl and Richard M. Bird (University of Toronto) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether developing countries should shift infrastructure investment responsibilities to local and state level governments. It concludes that while theory supports decentralization, two critical preconditions must be in place: the clear assignment of infrastructure responsibilities to local governments and effective accountability mechanisms. |
| Keywords: | developing countries, infrastructure investment, government |
| JEL: | H11 H72 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mfg:wpaper:16&r=tre |
| By: | Smart, Michael J |
| Keywords: | Architecture, Arts and Humanities, Education |
| Date: | 2015–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:uctcwp:qt5ch47691&r=tre |
| By: | Englmaier, Florian; Schmöller, Arno; Stowasser, Till |
| Abstract: | We use more than 63,000 datapoints from a German used car market website to document systematic and substantial price drops at vintage (= year of first registration) thresholds and 10,000 km odometer marks. The latter finding replicates the findings in Lacetera et al. (2012), whereas the first dimension cannot be analyzed with their US data because only German cars have such legally mandated and regulated “birthdatesâ€. Hence we have the unique opportunity to study the presence of coarse information processing within the same dataset and decision problem but across two separate domains. We document that discontinuities in these two domains are of comparable size. While Lacetera et al. (2012) explain their result with a left-digit bias in the processing of numerical information, vintage discontinuities cannot be explained by this. We propose a slightly more general model of information prominence and availability bias to accommodate our findings. |
| Keywords: | Complex Goods; Price Discontinuities; Information Neglect; Heuristics; Field Study |
| JEL: | D12 D83 L |
| Date: | 2015–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trf:wpaper:505&r=tre |
| By: | Mehmet Sinan Erguven (Anadolu University) |
| Abstract: | A flagship carrier company is important for the country’s prestige and it is a channel to communicate about the national culture. Companies use the elements of the culture to create “the story” of their marketing communication plan. Today Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) is positioning the brand on the concept “surprising”, while Turkish Airlines (THY) prefers “the perfect gastronomic experience” with the celebrity endorsement format. This study is trying to identify the reasons of these choices. Case study method is used to understand the logic behind the brand positioning of two companies. Documents, archival records and marketing communication efforts of the two brands are analyzed retrospectively. Results show that national cultures are dominating the marketing communication strategies and brand positioning of KLM and THY. The clichés and stereotypes of national cultures are used in marketing communication messages. On the other hand, both companies’ current brand positionings are shaped after some air crashes. KLM’s Tenerife and THY’s Schiphol accidents are dramatically affected the marketing communication strategies’ of this two flagship carriers. |
| Keywords: | Brand Positioning, Marketing Communication Strategy, Turkish Airlines, Royal Dutch Airlines. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:2503405&r=tre |