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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Xoaquín Fernández Leiceaga; Santiago Lago Peñas; Alberto Vaquero |
| Abstract: | Transport infrastructure investment is a cornerstone of growth-promoting strategies. However, in the case of Europe the relevant literature is increasingly failing to find a clear link between infrastructure investment and economic performance. This may be a consequence of overlooking the role of government institutions. This paper assesses the connection between regional quality of government and the returns of different types of road infrastructure in EU regions during the period between 1995 and 2009. The results unveil a strong influence of regional quality of government on the economic returns of transport infrastructure. In weak institutional contexts, investments in motorways – the preferred option by local governments – yield significantly lower returns than the more humble but possibly more efficient secondary road. Government institutions also affect the returns of transport maintenance investment. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal Federalism, decentralization, fiscal stability, intergovernmental relations, Spain. |
| JEL: | H70 H71 H72 H73 H74 H77 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gov:wpaper:1601&r=tre |
| By: | Adenbaum, Jacob (Federal Reserve Bank of New York); Copeland, Adam (Federal Reserve Bank of New York); Stevens, John J. (Federal Reserve Board) |
| Abstract: | The U.S. federal government enacted fuel efficiency standards for medium and heavy trucks for the first time in September 2011. Rationales for using this policy tool typically depend upon frictions existing in the marketplace or consumers being myopic, such that vehicle purchasers undervalue the future fuel savings from increased fuel efficiency. We measure by how much long-haul truck owners undervalue future fuel savings by employing recent advances to the classic hedonic approach to estimate the distribution of willingness-to-pay for fuel efficiency. We find significant heterogeneity in truck owners’ willingness to pay for fuel efficiency, with the elasticity of fuel efficiency to price ranging from 0.51 at the 10th percentile to 1.33 at the 90th percentile, and an average of 0.91. Combining these results with estimates of future fuel savings from increases in fuel efficiency, we find that long-haul truck owners’ willingness-to-pay for a 1 percent increase in fuel efficiency is, on average, just 29.5 percent of the expected future fuel savings. These results suggest that introducing fuel efficiency standards for heavy trucks might be an effective policy tool to raise medium and heavy trucks’ fuel economy. |
| Keywords: | fuel efficiency standards; durable goods; discrete-choice demand estimation |
| JEL: | D22 L51 L92 |
| Date: | 2016–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fednsr:756&r=tre |
| By: | Gokan, Toshitaka |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a general equilibrium model of a monocentric city based on Fujita and Krugman (1995). Two rates of transport costs per distance and for the same good are introduced. The model assumes that lower transport costs are available at a few points on a line. These lower costs represent new transport facilities, such as high-speed motorways and railways. Findings is that new transport facilities connecting the city and hinterlands strengthen the lock-in effects, which describes whether a city remains where it is forever after being created. Furthermore, the effect intensifies with better agricultural technologies and a larger population in the economy. The relationship between indirect utility and population size has an inverted U-shape, even if new transport facilities are used. However, the population size that maximizes indirect utility is smaller than that found in Fujita and Krugman (1995). |
| Keywords: | Econometric model, Transportation, Urban societies, Urban system, Monopolistic competition, Transport facilities |
| JEL: | F12 O14 R12 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper548&r=tre |
| By: | Alex Trew (University of St Andrews) |
| Abstract: | Infrastructure development can affect the spatial distribution of economic activity and, by consequence, aggregate structural transformation and growth. The growth of trade and specialization of regions, in turn, affects the demand for infrastructure. This paper develops a model in which the evolution of the transport sector occurs alongside the growth in trade and output of agricultural and manufacturing firms. Simulation output captures aspects of the historical record of England and Wales over c.1710-1881. A number of counterfactuals demonstrate the role that the timing and spatial distribution of infrastructure development plays in determining the timing and pace of takeoff. |
| Keywords: | Industrial revolution, growth, transport, spatial development. |
| JEL: | H54 O11 O18 O33 N13 N93 R12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:san:wpecon:1601&r=tre |
| By: | Raghuram, G.; Prashanth D. Udayakumar |
| Abstract: | Tariff at India’s centrally-administered major ports, including privately operated terminals therein, are regulated and prescribed by the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP). TAMP was set up under an amendment of the Major Port Trusts Act 1963 in 1997. This paper analyses the evolution of TAMP’s tariff policy against the growth of container terminals at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port. This major port, and India’s largest container port, is run by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), an autonomous body constituted under the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963. Various regulatory issues related to cost-plus approach to tariff setting, unsustainable royalty payments, regulatory capture, regulating performance, varying tariffs across CTs, and market assessment and capacity utilisation have been discussed. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iim:iimawp:13785&r=tre |
| By: | Papadopoulou, Georgia; Sambracos, Evangelos |
| Abstract: | The Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Alaska, Trans-Canal, West USA, Hawaii and South America are the major cruise markets. Europe is an important destination for cruisers growing its market share on the world map. In this paper, we try to do a critical analysis of the cruise industry in order to approach the significance of the cruise sector to the European economy. More specifically, we will focus on the recent development of cruise activities in European ports of embarkation, approaching this development from a quantitative and economic perspective. We will, also, estimate the economic revenues derived from cruise passengers in the European cities of embarkation. The paper’s methodology is based on theoretical and empirical data correlated with the passengers’ revenues. |
| Keywords: | European cruise evolution; cruise ports of embarkation; economic impact; cruise passengers expenditures; cruise revenue |
| JEL: | L83 L91 N70 |
| Date: | 2014–01–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:68626&r=tre |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (South Asia Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (South Asia Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | India has developed and tested various mechanisms and processes for more effective public–private partnerships in the roads sector, with the goal of achieving an optimal balance of value-for-money and business interests. This report examines various public–private partnership models that India has tested and modified along the way toward its attempts to find the most appropriate model. It also examines the previous and ongoing experiences of the Government of India to create the necessary mechanisms and systemization, policies and legislation, and flexibility for contract negotiation, to allow public and private stakeholders to work cohesively in their effort to improve India’s road infrastructure. |
| Keywords: | India, Road Sector, Public- Private- Partnerships, PPP, Infrastructure Investment, PPP Models, Infrastructure Financing Modality, Infrastructure, Toll Roads, Concession Agreement, Viability Gap Fund, Private Sector Financing, Annuity |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt157132&r=tre |