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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Amparo Moyano; Frédéric Dobruszkes |
| Abstract: | Since high-speed rail (HSR) is designed primarily to connect large cities, it challenges how smaller cities en-route are still going to be serviced by rail. Scholars have focused mainly on cities bypassed by HSR that have experienced a decrease in conventional rail services or on how several smaller cities have nevertheless been able to secure appropriate facilities to be served by high-speed trains in the context of compromises between HSR travel time and political pressures. Indeed, local and regional authorities often do their best to secure specific rail infrastructures to accommodate HSR services. However, in their euphoria they usually forget to consider HSR operations. Yet it is the services supplied (routes, frequencies and timetables) that ultimately determine the utility of HSR for those smaller cities, and the real possibility of being connected to other cities. In this context, this paper complements the existing literature by revisiting the case for smaller en-route HSR cities through a service-oriented perspective. We examine four European case studies and find that cities that initially succeed in securing HSR infrastructure may still be bypassed to some extent. Reasons include intermodal competition based on travel time, insufficient potential markets for train companies seeking higher revenues and rail stations not being designed appropriately. |
| Keywords: | High-speed rail; Bypass; Service supply; Servicing intermediate cities |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulb:ulbeco:2013/261983&r=tre |
| By: | Laura Grigolon |
| Abstract: | Prominent features of differentiated product markets are segmentation and product proliferation that blurs the boundaries between segments. I develop a tractable demand model,the Ordered Nested Logit, which allows for over lap between neighboring segments.I apply the model to the automobile market where segments are ordered from small to luxury. I find that consumers, when substituting outside their vehicle segment, are more likely to switch to a neighboring segment. Accounting for such a symmetric substitution matters when evaluating the impact of new product introduction or studying the effect of subsidies on fuel-efficient cars. |
| Date: | 2017–11–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:deptwp:2017-17&r=tre |
| By: | Attavanich, Witsanu |
| Abstract: | Despite facing with the air pollution caused by traffic congestion ranked top ten in the world, the Thai government launched a tax refund policy for first time car buyers between 16 September 2011 and 31 December 2012 aiming to give an opportunity to low-to-middle income people to own their first car with discounted price and stimulate economic growth. Although past studies evaluated the impacts of the program on several aspects, the environment aspect has been ignored. The objective of this study is therefore to evaluate the impact of the first-time car buyer program on environmental cost of air pollution in Bangkok using hourly air pollution records from monitoring stations for five major pollutants and the happiness data. The article finds that the program increased the levels of air pollution. Using the estimated willingness to pay for a unit reduction of each pollutant, this study reveals that the value of total environmental cost generated from the program is approximately equal to $6.173 billion dollars annually. |
| Keywords: | First-Time Car Buyer Program; Environmental Cost; Air Pollution; Bangkok; Subjective Well-Being; Interrupted Time Series; Program Evaluation |
| JEL: | Q51 Q53 Q58 |
| Date: | 2017–04–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:83170&r=tre |
| By: | Ciliberto, Federico; Cook, Emily; Williams, Jonathan |
| Abstract: | We study the effect of consolidation on airline network connectivity using three measures of centrality from graph theory: Degree, Closeness, and Betweenness. Changes in these measures from 1990 to 2015 imply: i) the average airport services a greater proportion of possible routes, ii) the average origin airport is fewer stops away from any given destination, and iii) the average hub is less often along the shortest route between two other airports. Yet, we find the trend toward greater connectivity in the national network structure is largely una ffected by consolidation, in the form of mergers and codeshare agreements, during this period. |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12485&r=tre |
| By: | Almunia, Miguel (University of Warwick); Gaete, Gonzalo (University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | Traffic accidents cause more than one million annual deaths worldwide and yield substantial economic costs to society. This paper studies the effects of a penalty points system (PPS) introduced in Spain in 2006. We find a 20% decrease in cumulative road fatalities in the five years after the reform, compared to a synthetic control group constructed using a weighted average of other European countries. Using estimates of the value of a statistical life, we calculate that the PPS yielded a net economic benefit of €4.6 billion ($6 billion) over this period, equivalent to 0.43% of Spain’s GDP. |
| Keywords: | road fatalities; traffic enforcement; penalty points system (PPS); synthetic control; Spain. JEL Classification: I18, R41, K32. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:348&r=tre |
| By: | Gayle, Philip; Xie, Xin |
| Abstract: | Researchers have written extensively on the impact that strategic alliances between airlines have on airfare, but little is known of the market entry deterrent impact of strategic alliances. Using a structural econometric model, this paper examines the market entry deterrent impact of codesharing, a form of strategic alliance, between incumbent carriers in domestic air travel markets. We find evidence of market entry deterrence, but deterrence impact depends on the specific type of codesharing between market incumbents as well as the identity of the potential entrant. We quantify the extent to which market incumbents’ codesharing influences potential entrants market entry cost and probability of market entry. |
| Keywords: | Entry Deterrence; Strategic Alliances; Dynamic Entry/Exit Model; Airline Competition |
| JEL: | L13 L93 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:83233&r=tre |
| By: | Sarah Fluchs (RWTH Aachen University); Dr. Garnet Kasperk |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the infl uence of political incentives which are set by the government and aim at promoting the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). More specifically, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are considered. A classification and categorization of different incentives is provided and specified for five countries, namely Norway, Netherlands, Germany, United States and China. Additionally, an empirical study was performed for China and the Netherlands employing the method of time series (TS) analysis. Results reveal that government incentives affect EV market penetration but exact effects differ for both country and type of EV. In China, especially direct rebates increase EV adoption under certain circumstances. In the Netherlands, PHEVs' market share increases more compared to BEVs' market share if both vehicle types receive the comparable incentives. |
| Keywords: | public policy, electric vehicles, political incentives, technology diffusion |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201757&r=tre |
| By: | Vincent FRIGANT; Stéphane MIOLLAN; Maëlise PRESSE; David VIRAPIN |
| Abstract: | This paper wishes to contribute to the Technological Innovation System (TIS) literature. More precisely, we study the geographic delineation issue of a focal TIS. In a first part, we discuss the geographic delineation debate in TIS framework, and we explain why co-patents are a good tool for mapping a TIS. Then considering the Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) as a focal TIS, we analyse 10 carmakers’ co-patent networks in FCV technologies between 2000 and 2013. Our database includes 3,250 co-patents. First, we build the networks corresponding to the three periods 2000-2004, 2000-2009, and 2000-2013. Second, we measure the nationalization index of their networks. Third, we study with whom they have established formal collaborations. The results show: 1) the internationalization increased slowly during the time span. We observe an extension of the network until 2009 and then, a consolidation trend; 2) the nationalization index is rather strong for 5 carmakers, and very weak for 3 others; 3) carmakers call upon different kinds of partners, located, moreover, in different places. The final section learns the lessons from the empirical study. |
| Keywords: | Technological Innovation System, TIS, Fuel Cell Vehicle, Geography of innovation, Co-patent, Automobile. |
| JEL: | O31 O33 L62 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grt:wpegrt:2017-20&r=tre |
| By: | Laszlo Goerke (Institute for Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union IAAEU), Trier University); Olga Lorenz (Institute for Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union IAAEU), Trier University) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the causal effect of commuting on sickness absence from work using German panel data. To address reverse causation, we use changes in commuting distance for employees who stay with the same employer and who have the same residence during the period of observation. In contrast to previous papers, we do not observe that commuting distances are associated with higher sickness absence, in general. Only employees who commute long distances are absent about 20% more than employees with no commutes. We explore various explanations for the effect of long distance commutes to work and can find no evidence that it is due to working hours mismatch, lower work effort, reduced leisure time or differences in health status. |
| Keywords: | sickness absence, absenteeism, commuting, health, labour supply |
| JEL: | I10 J22 R2 R40 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iaa:dpaper:201712&r=tre |
| By: | Pascal Mossay (Newcastle University, United Kingdom); Pierre M. Picard (CREA, Université du Luxembourg); Takatoshi Tabuchi (University of Tokyo, Japan) |
| Abstract: | We study urban structures driven by demand and vertical linkages in the presence of increasing returns to scale. Individuals consume local urban varieties and firms use these varieties to produce a national good. We prove the existence of a spatial equilibrium and obtain an invariance result according to which more intense demand or vertical linkages have the same effect on the urban structure as lower commuting costs. Various urban configurations can emerge exhibiting a mono- centric, an integrated, a duocentric, or a partially integrated city structure. We discuss the role of commuting and transport costs, intensities of demand and vertical linkages, and urbanization in affecting these patterns. We show that multiple equilibria may arise in equilibrium involving the monocentric city and up to a couple of duocentric and partially integrated structures. |
| Keywords: | Urban spatial structure, demand and vertical linkages, monopolistic competition, land |
| JEL: | R12 R14 R31 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:luc:wpaper:17-22&r=tre |