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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Alfredo Marvão Pereira (Department of Economics, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg VA 23187); Rui Manuel Pereira (Department of Economics, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg VA 23187) |
| Abstract: | We estimate how infrastructure investments affect industrial CO2 emissions in Portugal. Using empirical evidence on the economic effects of twelve types of infrastructure investments at the industry level, we consider twenty-two industries and the respective CO2 emission factors. Our conclusions are as follows. First, given the current emission factors for each industry, almost all types on infrastructure investments help the emissions intensity of the economy. Only for investments in airports and in health facilities are such positive effects absent. Second, the relevance of the economic effects of the different types of infrastructure investments on the electrical power industry is central in determining the overall effects on emissions. This is not surprising, given that electric power accounts for nearly 35% of CO2 emissions in Portugal and the extremely high emissions factor of this industry amplifies even small economic effects. Third, under an alternative scenario in which the emissions from the electric power industry have been eliminated – due to the use of renewable energy in production, for example – , or are otherwise ignored, we still see that most infrastructure investments lead to a decline in the CO2 emissions intensity. In this case, however, investments in national roads leave the emissions intensity essentially unchanged, while investments in health infrastructure have adverse effects on emissions. There are several important policy implications of these results when we consider infrastructure investment strategies that are mindful of their CO2 emission effects. Consider, for instance, transportation infrastructures. Given the present electric power generating mix, investment in national roads would be an appropriate policy recommendation from an environmental perspective, while investments in airport infrastructure should be avoided. Under a scenario of aggressive use of renewable energy sources in the production of electricity, however, the best investments would be in railroads and airports, two industries highly dependent on the use of electricity |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure Investment, CO2 Emissions, Industry-level Economic Effects, Industry-level Emission Effects, VAR, Portugal |
| JEL: | C32 E22 H54 L90 O52 Q43 Q58 |
| Date: | 2017–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mde:wpaper:0081&r=tre |
| By: | Paschmann, Martin (Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln (EWI)) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, benefits resulting from the interaction of electric vehicles and photovoltaic generation units are analyzed. In doing so, a bottom-up approach is developed to simulate the driving and charging behavior of electric vehicles. An economic analysis is then performed to determine key findings for households with photovoltaic systems and electric vehicles: First, smart electric vehicle charging concepts may allow households to achieve higher cost-saving potentials by increasing their share of self-consumption by 59% compared to the case of uncontrolled charging. Second, adopting more of a system-oriented perspective, smart electric vehicle charging concepts could react to times of peak load and thereby reduce the average peak-load increase due to electric vehicles to 27%. According to these findings, it may be beneficial for policy makers to encourage peak-load minimizing charging behavior by introducing, e.g., load-sensitive tariff schemes. Technical challenges arising from the peak-load impact of electric vehicles may be regarded as being a coordination problem. Finally, the analysis shows that the potential of electric vehicles to counteract extremes of reverse power lows due to high photovoltaic electricity generation is limited. |
| Keywords: | Electromobility; distributed energy resources; energy storage; electric vehicle charging; sector coupling; energy self-sufficiency |
| JEL: | C15 C61 C63 D14 H20 R20 |
| Date: | 2017–10–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:ewikln:2017_011&r=tre |
| By: | Pinto, Santiago (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond) |
| Abstract: | It is well-known that competition for factors of production, including competition for residents, affects the public services provided in the communities. This paper considers the determination of local investment in urban transport systems. Many specialists question the effectiveness of the current U.S. top-to-bottom transportation institutional arrangement in which the federal government plays a dominant role and recommend a shift toward a decentralized organization. We examine how such a shift would affect the levels of transport investment. Specifically, we consider a model of two cities, and assume, as in Brueckner and Selod (2006), that transport systems are characterized by different time and money costs. We compare the outcomes reached when the transport system is decided by a central authority (a state or federal government) to the one decided by each jurisdiction in a decentralized way. In the latter case, city or local transportation authorities choose the system that maximizes residents’ welfare, taking as given the decisions made elsewhere, essentially competing for residents (or workers). Our analysis shows that even though a shift toward a decentralized arrangement of the transportation system would generally lead to overinvestment (relative to the centralized case), the extent of this bias depends on the specific factors that drive transport authorities in deciding the transportation system, on the landownership structure, and on the financing arrangements in place. The paper also shows that, in a more general setup, when the two cities differ in their productivity levels, the more productive city will tend to overinvest in transportation systems that connect the two cities, and the less productive city will tend to underinvest in those systems. |
| Keywords: | transportation; transport investment; |
| Date: | 2017–10–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedrwp:17-10&r=tre |
| By: | Biswa Nath Bhattacharyay; Madhurima Bhattacharyay |
| Abstract: | Asia, particularly its major economies has witnessed slower growth in recent years. To make Asia more economically sustainable and resilient against external shocks to recover from the falling growth, most regional economies need to rebalance their export-oriented (mostly to advanced economies) production and growth towards Asian markets and regional demand, and trade-driven growth through increased intraregional infrastructure connectivity and regional economic integration. In 1992, a pan-Asian transport connectivity was initiated through, Asian Highway Network and Trans-Asian Railways Network. In 2015, an ambitious pan-Asian connectivity initiative, namely “One Belt, One Road†(ancient silk road) initiative has been proposed. This initiative plans to create an economic zone covering Asia, Europe and Africa. To successfully promote and finance greater physical connectivity, at the pan-Asian, sub-regional and national levels, Asia will require a strong and appropriate institutional framework for effective coordination, cooperation and collaboration among national, subregional, and region-wide institutions as well as other stakeholders. This paper discusses the prospects and challenges facing Asian connectivity as well as infrastructure financing needs in Asia. It also examines the nature and characteristics of existing and new institutions and the emerging role of regional and international institutions for enhancing Asian connectivity. Lastly, it proposes an institutional architecture consisting of new “Asian Infrastructure Coordination Facility (AICF)†involving major stakeholders for building a seamless pan-Asian connectivity through bilateral, regional and international cooperation, partnership and collaboration in infrastructure development. |
| Keywords: | Asia, connectivity, hard and soft infrastructure, bilateral, regional and international institutions, inclusive and sustainable infrastructure, infrastructure financing, institutional architecture, financial instruments, bilateral and multilateral development banks |
| JEL: | R10 R40 R42 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6422&r=tre |
| By: | Jonathan D. Hall |
| Abstract: | We need structural models of traffic congestion to answer a wide variety of questions, but the standard models fail to match the data on travel times across the day. I establish the nature and magnitude of the problem, and show its source lies in how we model agent preferences, not in the specifics of the congestion technology. The poor fit of the models suggests that we are abstracting away from features with a first-order impact on model predictions, which limits our ability to use these models to evaluate counterfactuals quantitatively and---when agents are heterogeneous---qualitatively as well. I explore several ways of improving the fit of these models, concluding with recommendations for tractable and intuitive ways of doing so. |
| Keywords: | Structural model; Congestion; Model fit; Calibration; Dynamic; Bottleneck Model; Traffic |
| JEL: | R4 H4 |
| Date: | 2017–10–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-590&r=tre |
| By: | Pfaff, Alexander S. P.; Robalino, Juan D.; Reis, Eustáquio José; Walker, Robert T.; Perz, Stephen George L.; Laurance, William F.; Bohrer, Claudio; Aldrich, Steven; Arima, E. Y.; Caldas, Marcellus Marques; Kirby, Katherine |
| Abstract: | To inform the search for SDG synergies in infrastructure provision, and to reduce SDG tradeoffs, the authors show that road impacts on Brazilian Amazon forests have varied significantly across settings. Forest loss varied predictably with prior development - both prior roads and prior deforestation - and in a spatial pattern suggesting a synergy between forests and urban growth in such frontiers. Examining multiple roads investments, the authors estimate impact for settings of high, medium and low prior roads and deforestation. Census-tract observations are numerous for each setting and reveal a pattern, not consistent with endogeneity, that confirms our predictions for this kind of frontier. Impacts are: low after relatively high prior development; larger for medium prior development, at the forest margin; then low again for low prior development. For the latter setting, the authors note that in such isolated areas, interactions with conservation policies influence forest impacts over time. These Amazonian results suggest "SDG strategic" locations of infrastructure, an idea they suggest for other frontiers while highlighting differences in those frontiers and their SDG opportunities. |
| Keywords: | deforestation,roads,infrastructure,climate change,biodiversity,Brazil |
| JEL: | O12 O13 H23 H41 Q23 Q24 Q56 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwedp:201783&r=tre |
| By: | R. S., Gopalan; M., Ravibabu; Sahu, Sasmita |
| Abstract: | Costing of railway systems is complicated due to a large proportion of sunk and joint costs. Indian Railways (IR) currently estimates costs at the zonal level by first segregating the direct costs, i.e. costs which can be assigned to a service, and joint costs, i.e. costs which are incurred jointly for more than one service. While the direct costs are assigned to the service, the joint costs are assigned based on ratios worked out for assigning costs between various services. Compared to the method in vogue, the paper proposes and demonstrates a disaggregated approach for developing costs. Unlike the current approach, the proposed approach develops expenses and performance measures at the activity centre level, i.e. at division, shed, and workshop level. The disaggregated data is used to build statistical models relating expenditure to outputs. The paper also shows how the approach can help in i) separating variable and fixed costs ii) developing costs as per sectional characteristics, iii) comparing and benchmarking performance of entities and finally iv) how the process can be automated. The paper also shows how the work could be useful for the accounts reforms project of IR and to the Rail Development Authority in fulfilling some of its objectives. |
| Keywords: | Railway costing, statistical models, Indian Railways |
| JEL: | R48 |
| Date: | 2017–10–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:81947&r=tre |
| By: | Alicia Garcia-Herrero (Adjunct Professor, Department of Economics , Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Institute for Emerging Market Studies, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Chief Economist, Asia Pacific at NATIXIS) |
| Abstract: | Alicia Garcia-Herrero, HKUST IEMS Faculty Associate, thinks that the Belt and Road Initiative’s financial goals can be met by borrowing from international banks, in addition to Chinese ones. European banks, as already biggest lenders to the Belt and Road countries, could be encouraged to further help with financing OBOR’s projects since many of them are appealing for Europe. Meanwhile Hong Kong has an important role to play in the international financing of the Initiative. |
| Keywords: | china, Chinese Banks, europe, finance, infrastructure, OBOR, One Belt One Road |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hku:briefs:201717&r=tre |
| By: | Zhou, Haiwen |
| Abstract: | In this general equilibrium framework, the transportation sector is modeled as a distinct sector with increasing returns. A more advanced technology has a higher fixed cost but a lower marginal cost of production. Even with both manufacturing firms and transportation firms engage in oligopolistic competition and choose technologies optimally, the model is tractable and results are derived analytically. Technology adoptions in the manufacturing sector and in the transportation sector are reinforcing and multiple equilibria may exist. Firms choose more advanced technologies and the prices decrease when the size of the population is larger. |
| Keywords: | Transportation costs, international trade, the choice of technology, increasing returns, strategic complementarity |
| JEL: | F10 O14 R40 |
| Date: | 2017–10–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:81943&r=tre |
| By: | Alicia Garcia-Herrero (Adjunct Professor, Department of Economics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Institute for Emerging Market Studies, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at NATIXIS); Jianwei Xu (Associate Professor, Beijing Normal University) |
| Abstract: | Alicia Garcia-Herrero, HKUST IEMS Faculty Associate and Chief Economist for the Asia Pacific at NATIXIS, asks how Xi Jinping’s One Belt One Road initiative will affect EU trade. The colossal infrastructure project is set to upturn trade relationships across Eurasia, yet the examination of its effects is still “embryonic”. Who will be the major winners and losers in trade? How would FTAs between China and OBOR nations affect the EU? In this latest IEMS Thought Leadership Brief, Prof García-Herrero makes the case for why it is time for the EU to actively participate in the Belt and Road Initiative. The study was conducted at Bruegel Research Institute with colleague Jianwei Xu. |
| Keywords: | Belt & Road, china, China-EU Trade, infrastructure, international economic system, International Trade, One Belt One Road |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hku:briefs:201614&r=tre |