nep-tre New Economics Papers
on Transport Economics
Issue of 2018‒07‒30
seventeen papers chosen by
Erik Teodoor Verhoef
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

  1. Dynamic Price Competition in the Air Transport Market: An Analysis on Long-Haul Routes By Catherine Muller-Vibes; Chantal Roucolle; Miguel Urdanoz
  2. ROLE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF STATE TRANSPORT: AN ANALYSIS OF PEPSU ROAD TRANSPORT CORPORATION (P.R.T.C) PUNJAB. (INDIA). By PAWAN KUMAR
  3. Business cycles in Greek maritime transport: an econometric exploration (1998–2015) By Konstantakis, Konstantinos N.; Papageorgiou, Theofanis; Christopoulos, Apostolos G.; Dokas, Ioannis G.; Michaelides, Panayotis G.
  4. Impacts of transport connections on port hinterlands By David Guerrero
  5. Assessing competition on Maritime Routes in the Liner Shipping Industry through multivariate analysis By Nikola Kutin; Patrice Guillotreau; Thomas Vallée
  6. Compensating households from carbon tax regressivity and fuel poverty: a microsimulation study By Audrey Berry
  7. Macroeconomic modelling of electrified mobility systems in 2030 European Union By Frédéric Ghersi
  8. Trade-offs between the Stepwise Cost Function and its Linear Approximation for the Modular Hub Location Problem By Milad Keshvari Fard; Laurent Alfandari
  9. The HSR competition in Italy: How are the regulatory design and practices concerned? By Christian Desmaris; Fabio Croccolo
  10. Modelling the number of road accidents of uninsured drivers and their severity By Jiri Prochazka; Matej Camaj
  11. Vehicular Assault: Proposed Auto Tariffs Will Hit American Car Buyers’ Wallets By Mary E. Lovely; Jeremie Cohen-Setton; Euijin Jung
  12. Speed Bump Ahead: Ottawa Should Drive Slowly on Clean Fuel Standards By Benjamin Dachis
  13. Measuring Airline Networks: Comprehensive Indicators By Chantal Roucolle; Tatiana Seregina; Miguel Urdanoz
  14. Container Port Hierarchy and Connectivity based on Network Analysis By Nikola Kutin; Marie-Sabine Saget; Thomas Vallée
  15. Factors behind the Freight Rates in the Liner Shipping Industry By Nikola Kutin; Zakaria Moussa; Thomas Vallée
  16. A Fuel Tax Decomposition When Local Pollution Matters By Stéphane Gauthier; Fanny Henriet
  17. The Local Impact of Containerization By Leah Brooks; Nicolas Gendron-Carrier; Gisela Rua

  1. By: Catherine Muller-Vibes (Toulouse Business School); Chantal Roucolle (ENAC - Ecole Nationale de l'Aviation Civile); Miguel Urdanoz (Toulouse Business School)
    Abstract: The pricing policy of airlines is based on revenue management. Revenue management analysts daily observe competitive prices and strategically adjust their own tariffs. One could expect this behavior to lead to a sound homogenization of airline prices evolution while competing on a market. We test empirically whether airline pricing strategies evolve on a similar manner, on a particular set of long-haul routes. Using new and original data including information on ticket prices paid, purchasing and departure dates, we estimate a model for the effect of dynamic factors on the evolution of ticket prices, based on economic theory. We use a 3 rd degree polynomial regression between prices and number of days to departure for each airline operating on the routes, and control for key revenue management variables, competition factors and individual effects. Our results show that competing airlines pricing strategies are statistically distinct during their ticket sale period. Airlines maximize their profits by sequentially increasing or decreasing their prices, but they do so in a non-synchronized fashion, and with different magnitudes.
    Keywords: Panel data,Air transportation, Price discrimination, Revenue management
    Date: 2018–07–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01822988&r=tre
  2. By: PAWAN KUMAR (SANT LONGOWAL INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY)
    Abstract: Road transport plays a key role in socio- economic development. Most suitable for short and medium distances, it offers a number of advantages such as flexibility, reliability, speed and door to door service. Over the years, share of transport in overall traffic handling has been continuously increasing on the one hand and on the other especially public passenger transport is bearing losses year after year. The present paper is an attempt to find out the reasons of loss making of Pepsu road transport corporation (P.R.T.C) in Punjab. And it has been observed that due to government policies and lethargic attitude of some staff members this is corporation is bearing loss year after year and becoming liability on the government.
    Keywords: Passenger Road Transport, polices, pros cons.
    JEL: A12
    Date: 2017–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:5407923&r=tre
  3. By: Konstantakis, Konstantinos N.; Papageorgiou, Theofanis; Christopoulos, Apostolos G.; Dokas, Ioannis G.; Michaelides, Panayotis G.
    Abstract: Maritime transport has been a crucial input for the growth of the Greek economy given that the Greek fleet is one of largest merchant fleets in the world. However, the impact of the local and international business cycle on Greek maritime transport is inadequately researched, so far, in the literature. In this context, the present paper investigates the key determinants of maritime transport fluctuations in the three major ports of the Greek hinterland, taking into account a number of variables for the 1998–2015 time-span, capturing, at least partly, the global financial crisis and the local crisis, as well. To this end, various relevant quantitative techniques have been used, such as Granger causality, Dufour and Renault multistep causality and SURE system estimation. Our main finding is that Greek maritime transport traffic, as expressed through the cargo volumes of the three major ports of Piraeus, Volos and Thessaloniki, has not been influenced by the Greek business cycle, implying that the country’s maritime sector is practically independent of the macroeconomic conditions of the total economy. Clearly, future and more extended research would be relevant in the direction of applying the aforementioned approach to other EU countries of the Mediterranean.
    Keywords: Maritime transport; Greek crisis; Global crisis; Business cycles; SURE; Causality
    JEL: N0
    Date: 2017–06–24
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:83540&r=tre
  4. By: David Guerrero (IFSTTAR/AME/SPLOTT - Systèmes Productifs, Logistique, Organisation des Transports et Travail - IFSTTAR - Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Aménagement et des Réseaux - Communauté Université Paris-Est)
    Abstract: This paper examines the spatial distribution of freight flows between the French NUTS-3 regions and West European ports. It focuses on the impacts of the quality of inland and maritime connections on the scope of hinterlands. The results of a spatial interaction analysis reveal that the inland distance constraint is significantly lower when intermodal connections such as regular barge or rail services are available. A case study focused on East Asian trade confirmed that factors related to maritime connectivity, such as the frequency of services at ports and their ability to accommodate large vessels, also contribute to limit the distance impedance. However, these effects vary considerably depending on the value density of the cargo.
    Keywords: CONTAINERIZATION,SPATIAL INTERACTION MODEL,PORT,INTERMODALITE,ARRIERE PAYS,FLUX DE MARCHANDISES,CONTENEUR,TRANSPORT INTERMODAL
    Date: 2018–01–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01822851&r=tre
  5. By: Nikola Kutin (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - IEMN-IAE Nantes - Institut d'Économie et de Management de Nantes - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - UN - Université de Nantes, National University of Management); Patrice Guillotreau (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - IEMN-IAE Nantes - Institut d'Économie et de Management de Nantes - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - UN - Université de Nantes); Thomas Vallée (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - IEMN-IAE Nantes - Institut d'Économie et de Management de Nantes - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - UN - Université de Nantes)
    Abstract: The current paper investigates the level of competition on maritime routes in the liner shipping industry by applying multivariate and cluster analyses on maritime indicators. We use a dataset which includes maritime routes between 153 ports for the year 2014, described by several characteristics regarding the number of operators, the number of ships and trips, the size of ships, the sea distance, the bilateral countries' connectivity. Some clusters of maritime routes are identified along two key components, a first one related to the number of competing firms, and a second one where the average size of firms is positively correlated with distance. The first one indicates somehow the degree of competition while the second one is related to the efficiency of carriers. Another way of looking at competition is to consider the region-based trade and to see whether indicators respond differently from region to region.
    Keywords: multivariate analysis,clusters,competition,shipping
    Date: 2018–07–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01828643&r=tre
  6. By: Audrey Berry (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - AgroParisTech - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CIRAD - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement)
    Abstract: For households, taxing carbon raises the cost of the energy they use to heat their home and to travel. This paper studies the distributional impacts of the recently introduced French carbon tax and the design of compensation measures. Using a microsimulation model built on a representative sample of the French population from 2012, I simulate for each household the taxes levied on its consumption of energy for housing and transport. Without recycling, the carbon tax is regressive and increases fuel poverty. However, I show how compensation measures can offset these impacts. A flat cash transfer offsets tax regressivity by redistributing
    Keywords: Carbon tax,Distributional impacts,Fuel poverty,Revenue recycling,Microsimulation
    Date: 2018–01–23
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01691088&r=tre
  7. By: Frédéric Ghersi (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - AgroParisTech - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CIRAD - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement)
    Abstract: This working paper details in 3 sections (i) the data collection and treatment that were necessary to apply IMACLIM-P to a 28-country European Union (EU); (ii) the particulars of a version of IMACLIMP dedicated to a prospective outlook on the penetration of electric passenger cars in the EU, including how results of the PAN-EU TIMES model of energy systems can be imported in IMACLIMP, together with the complete set of equations of the model; (iii) model implementation.
    Date: 2018–01–24
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01691740&r=tre
  8. By: Milad Keshvari Fard (ESSEC Business School - Essec Business School); Laurent Alfandari (SID - Information Systems, Decision Sciences and Statistics Department - Essec Business School)
    Abstract: There exist situations where the transportation cost is better estimated as a function of the number of vehicles required for transporting a load, rather than a linear function of the load. This provides a stepwise cost function, which defines the so-called Modular Hub Location Problem (MHLP, or HLP with modular capacities) that has received increasing attention in the last decade. In this paper, we consider formulations to be solved by exact methods. We show that by choosing a specific generalized linear cost function with slope and intercept depending on problem data, one minimizes the measurement deviation between the two cost functions and obtains solutions close to those found with the stepwise cost function, while avoiding the higher computational complexity of the latter. As a side contribution, we look at the savings induced by using direct shipments in a hub and spoke network, given the better ability of a stepwise cost function to incorporate direct transportation. Numerical experiments are conducted over benchmark HLP instances of the OR-library.
    Date: 2018–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01821280&r=tre
  9. By: Christian Desmaris (IEP Lyon - Sciences Po Lyon - Institut d'études politiques de Lyon - Université de Lyon, LAET - Laboratoire Aménagement Économie Transports - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - ENTPE - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Fabio Croccolo (Dirigente Generale - Ufficio per la regolazione dei Servizi Ferroviari - Ministero delle Infrastrutture e Trasporti)
    Abstract: Italy is nowadays the only European country to have organized a head-on competition on its whole high speed railway (HSR) network. This paper discusses the issues of this new market structure for the Italian Rail Regulator, both in terms of regulatory design and economic regulation practices. Such HSR competition and regulation took place in a very specific and ambivalent context (including declining Italian railway demand, negative European macroeconomic environment), together with a new ambitious and innovating private competitor (NTV) and strong reactions from the incumbent (Trenitalia). The Italian Rail Regulator's interventions look like more or less a set of everyday life decisions and empirical trade-off than a duly achieved economic doctrine and policy. The level of access charges seems to be a strategic variable to enlarge the scope for profitable entry in Italy. However, this new context still does not answer the question whether HSR operators reach their economic equilibrium in open access competition.
    Keywords: Rail market,Regulation,High-speed,Open access,Competition,Italy
    Date: 2018
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01825881&r=tre
  10. By: Jiri Prochazka (University of Economics, Prague); Matej Camaj (University of Economics, Prague)
    Abstract: The main aim of the presentation is to discuss methods which can be used for modelling the number of daily road accidents of uninsured drivers and their claim severity i.e. the average claim per accident. Modelling of such events is relevant for institutions such as the insurance companies, national insurers? bureau etc. The proposed model consists of three parts. The first part models deterministic seasonality with special focus given on daily seasonality. Daily seasonality is usually considered as seasonality with long seasonal period, so we will use approaches based on basis expansion. The second part characterizes the impact of other deterministic variables such as long-term trend and other external variables. The last part of the model is an error term part the purpose of which is to capture residual randomness of the model. Because of the character of the time series, GARMA model will be used to capture the error term part.
    Keywords: road accidents; long seasonal period modelling; basis expansion; GARMA models
    JEL: C53 G22
    Date: 2017–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:5408040&r=tre
  11. By: Mary E. Lovely (Peterson Institute for International Economics); Jeremie Cohen-Setton (Peterson Institute for International Economics); Euijin Jung (Peterson Institute for International Economics)
    Abstract: President Donald Trump’s proposal in May to impose 25 percent tariffs on imported automobiles, SUVs, vans, trucks—as well as all auto parts—will raise car prices significantly, suppressing sales and pushing some buyers with modest incomes out of the new car market entirely. Using industry data, consumer information, and the record of previous tariff hikes, the authors estimate that the average price of an entry-level compact car will increase between $1,408 and $2,057. Similarly, the price of a new compact SUV/crossover, the most popular vehicle in America, will rise by $2,093 to $3,066. More upscale versions of the compact SUV/crossover will rise by significantly more, $4,708 to $6,972.
    Date: 2018–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iie:pbrief:pb18-16&r=tre
  12. By: Benjamin Dachis (C.D. Howe Institute)
    Abstract: Ottawa should clear up confusion about its plans for clean fuel standards, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Speed Bump Ahead: Ottawa Should Drive Slowly on Clean Fuel Standards” author Benjamin Dachis argues federal policymakers must examine the inherent limitations and potential economic costs of a clean fuel standard system.
    Keywords: Energy and Natural Resources; Business Subsidies and Preferences;Efficiency and Productivity;Environmental Policies and Norms;Oil and Gas;Regulatory Burden;Transportation
    JEL: Q4 Q42
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdh:ebrief:279&r=tre
  13. By: Chantal Roucolle (ENAC - Ecole Nationale de l'Aviation Civile); Tatiana Seregina (ENAC - Ecole Nationale de l'Aviation Civile, Toulouse Business School - ESC Toulouse); Miguel Urdanoz (Toulouse Business School - Toulouse Business School)
    Abstract: The literature on airlines presents few studies analyzing the airlines network evolution and its impact on prices, costs or profitability. We believe that this gap is due to the difficulty of capturing the network complexity in a simple manner. This paper proposes new simple and continuous indicators to measure the airlines network structure. The methodology to build them is based on graph theory and principal component analysis. We apply this approach to the US domestic market for 2005-2015, and obtain three network indicators. The first one measures how close the network is to a hub-and-spoke structure. The second indicator measures the airline's ability to provide alternative routes. The third indicator captures the network size. We analyze how the carriers' network evolution can be described by those indicators. We show that low-cost carriers (LCCs) and legacy carriers' network choices differ for the second indicator, while our results exhibit no difference in strategies for the other two indicators. We also show that economic conditions affect differently the three indicators and the magnitude of the impact depends on the airline type. Highlights: ● Combine graph theory and principal component analysis ● Obtain three indicators to characterize airline network structure for US domestic market ● Compare these indicators for low-cost and legacy carriers ● Estimate evolution in the indicators over time ● Analyze the impact of the main US mergers on the network structure
    Keywords: Airline,Graph theory,Hub,Network,Principal Component Analysis (PCA)
    Date: 2017–07–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01822938&r=tre
  14. By: Nikola Kutin (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - IEMN-IAE Nantes - Institut d'Économie et de Management de Nantes - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - UN - Université de Nantes, National University of Management); Marie-Sabine Saget (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - IEMN-IAE Nantes - Institut d'Économie et de Management de Nantes - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - UN - Université de Nantes); Thomas Vallée (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - IEMN-IAE Nantes - Institut d'Économie et de Management de Nantes - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - UN - Université de Nantes)
    Abstract: This study aims to analyze port hierarchy between 153 container ports. For this purpose, a network analysis was conducted. Particular attention was paid to 68 ports from the ASEAN+31 community. We have created five director weighted networks at both port and country levels. Results reveal that the prevailing structure of the global maritime network is hub and spoke, and that the port rankings change according to different centrality measures. Regarding the intra-ASEAN+3 connectivity, ASEAN member states form a cluster of interconnected ports. A comparative analysis shows that both the Export and Maritime connectivity networks have similar patterns, which indicates that the containerized trade within ASEAN+3 has the same features as the intra-regional exports.
    Keywords: Network,ASEAN,Trade,Shipping,Connectivity,Centrality
    Date: 2018–07–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01828656&r=tre
  15. By: Nikola Kutin (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - IEMN-IAE Nantes - Institut d'Économie et de Management de Nantes - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - UN - Université de Nantes, National University of Management); Zakaria Moussa (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - IEMN-IAE Nantes - Institut d'Économie et de Management de Nantes - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - UN - Université de Nantes); Thomas Vallée (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - IEMN-IAE Nantes - Institut d'Économie et de Management de Nantes - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - UN - Université de Nantes)
    Abstract: This paper analyses the relationship between the China Containerized Freight Index (CCFI), Containership Earnings, Fleet Development, bunker price and Global Economic Activity. The Markov-switching Vector Autoregressive model has been applied by assuming the existence of two regimes. The first one is characterized by low and volatile freight rates, while the second one is more stable with high earnings and high freight rates. Three major cycles in the liner shipping industry have been identified. Moreover, by applying the Impulse Reponses Function, we have estimated the reaction of the freight rates following an increase of 1% of the other variables in the model.
    Keywords: Freight rates,Container trade,Shipping,Vector Autoregressive Model
    Date: 2018–07–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01828633&r=tre
  16. By: Stéphane Gauthier (PSE - Paris School of Economics, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne); Fanny Henriet (PSE - Paris School of Economics, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
    Keywords: Pigovian tax,targeting principle,local externality,pollution,commodity taxes
    Date: 2018–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-01826330&r=tre
  17. By: Leah Brooks; Nicolas Gendron-Carrier; Gisela Rua
    Abstract: We investigate how containerization impacts local economic activity. Containerization is premised on a simple insight: packaging goods for waterborne trade into a standardized container makes them dramatically cheaper to move. We use a novel cost-shifter instrument -- port depth pre-containerization -- to contend with the non-random adoption of containerization by ports. Container ships sit much deeper in the water than their predecessors, making initially deep ports cheaper to containerize. Consistent with New Economic Geography models, we find that counties near container ports grow an additional 70 percent from 1950 to 2010. Gains predominate in counties with initially low population density and manufacturing.
    Keywords: Containerization ; Globalization ; Local economic activity
    JEL: R11 F15
    Date: 2018–07–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2018-45&r=tre

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