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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Yoshifumi Konishi (Keio University); Akari Ono (Keio University) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the causal effect of ride-hailing entry on transport-related air pollution in U.S. cities, using granular satellite-based NO? concentration data in the staggered difference-in-differences research design. Our empirical strategy accounts for treatment effect heterogeneity both within and across cities, coupled with two additional strategies to strengthen identification: using geography-based instruments and exploiting a sharp, unanticipated change in ride-hailing activity in Austin due to its rule change. We find robust evidence that ride-hailing tends to improve air quality in highly dense cities, but has no significant impact in cities with low and medium density. We also find evidence that the NO? reduction in highly dense cities is associated with a decrease in private car use and an increase in public transit use. Taken together, our findings suggest that the environmental effect of ride-hailing depends on the complementarity between ride-hailing and public transit: While ride-hailing may increase congestion by inducing deadheading or displacing of mass transit for parts of daily trips, it may still decrease overall air pollution if a combined use of ride-hailing with other transit displaces private car use more than such adverse behavior. |
| Keywords: | Air pollution, congestion, commuting choice, staggered difference-indifferences, instrumental variable, ride-hailing, ride-sharing, transportation and environment |
| JEL: | L91 Q53 R4 R11 |
| Date: | 2024–06–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:keo:dpaper:2024-014&r= |
| By: | Oleg Alekseev; Karel Janda; Mathieu Petit; David Zilberman |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the return and volatility spillovers between the upstream electric vehicles (EV) battery raw materials market and the individual downstream EV producers. The study uses the daily stock returns of two lithium producers and a new model in the GARCH family to capture the jump component of volatility in the EV battery raw materials market. Return and volatility spillovers are studied using an EGARCH(1, 1) model including the excess stock returns of lithium producers in the mean equation and their jump component intensity in the variance equation. The results indicate that jumps exist in the EV battery raw materials market and that there exist significant return spillovers between lithium and EV producers. However, this paper didn’t find any strong evidence of the existence of volatility spillovers between these two markets through lithium unexpected news. |
| Keywords: | EVs, return spillovers, volatility spillovers, jump component, jump intensity, EGARCH-EARJI |
| JEL: | C22 G14 L61 L62 |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:camaaa:2024-40&r= |
| By: | Andreas Hagn; Rainer Kolisch; Giacomo Dall'Olio; Stefan Weltge |
| Abstract: | In airport operations, optimally using dedicated personnel for baggage handling tasks plays a crucial role in the design of resource-efficient processes. Teams of workers with different qualifications must be formed, and loading or unloading tasks must be assigned to them. Each task has a time window within which it can be started and should be finished. Violating these temporal restrictions incurs severe financial penalties for the operator. In practice, various components of this process are subject to uncertainties. We consider the aforementioned problem under the assumption of stochastic travel times across the apron. We present two binary program formulations to model the problem at hand and solve it with a Branch-Price-Cut-and-Switch approach, in which we dynamically switch between two master problem formulations. Furthermore, we use an exact separation method to identify violated rank-1 Chv\'atal-Gomory cuts and utilize an efficient branching rule relying on task finish times. We test the algorithm on instances generated based on real-world data from a major European hub airport with a planning horizon of up to two hours, 30 flights per hour, and three available task execution modes to choose from. Our results indicate that our algorithm is able to significantly outperform existing solution approaches. Moreover, an explicit consideration of stochastic travel times allows for solutions that utilize the available workforce more efficiently, while simultaneously guaranteeing a stable service level for the baggage handling operator. |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2405.20912&r= |
| By: | Ziyu Yan |
| Abstract: | This thesis investigates the dynamics of multimarket contact and airline mergers on collusive pricing of airlines. In align with Bernheim and Whinston (1990) and Athey et.al.(2004), it detects collusive pricing via pairwise price difference and price rigidity. The piece of work extends previous work by incorporating additional controls such as distinction between non-stop and stopover itineraries and detailed market concentration measures. The findings confirm a significant relationship between multimarket contact and reduced price differences, indicating collusive equilibria facilitated by frequent interactions across markets. Moreover, the results highlight that airlines exhibit more collusive behavior when pricing non-stop flights, and are more likely to attain tacit collusion when they approaches duopoly in a particular market. The study also explores the effects of airline mergers on collusion, employing an event study methodology with a difference-in-difference (DID) design. It finds no direct evidence that mergers lead to increased collusion among unmerged carriers. However, it reveals that during and after the merger process, carrier pairs between merged and unmerged carriers are more likely to collude compared to pairs of unmerged carriers. |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2405.15825&r= |
| By: | Hakan Yilmazkuday (Department of Economics, Florida International University) |
| Abstract: | Using data on the number of visitors at the store level, this paper attempts to measure the welfare costs of traditional shopping trips for the U.S. census blocks. The investigation is based on an economic model, where individuals living in census blocks decide on which store to shop from based on the shopping-trip costs and idiosyncratic benefits. The welfare gains from removing shopping-trip costs in percentage terms are shown to depend on the weighted average of log distance measures between shopping stores and census blocks. The results show that the welfare gains from removing shopping-trip costs is about 4% for the average census block, with a range between 0.021% and 18% across census blocks that is further connected to their demographic or socioeconomic characteristics, especially their population density. Several practical policy implications follow regarding how shopping-trip costs can be reduced to achieve higher welfare gains. |
| Keywords: | Store-Level Analysis, Census Block Groups, Shopping, Welfare |
| JEL: | L81 R13 R41 |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fiu:wpaper:2404&r= |
| By: | Frederik von Waldow; Heike Link |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the pass-through rates and their determinants of the temporary German fuel discount in 2022 at its start and its termination. Based on a unique dataset of fuel station characteristics and prices, we employ a Regression Discontinuity in Time (RDiT) methodology to estimate heterogeneous pass-through rates. Our main contribution is to identify the impact of horizontal and vertical market structures on the extent to which taxes are passed on to consumers. While competitive pressure is positively associated with the response of prices to tax changes, we estimate lower pass-through predominantly for more isolated stations with fewer competitors. Furthermore, our results indicate that independence from upstream markets is accompanied by a reduced pass-through of tax changes suggesting the existence of double marginalization. |
| Keywords: | Gasoline prices, local competition, tax pass-through, regression discontinuity in time |
| JEL: | Q48 H22 L13 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp2086&r= |
| By: | Yutong Chen; Kerem Coşar; Devaki Ghose; Shirish Mahendru; Sheetal Sekhri |
| Abstract: | Reducing gender-specific commuting barriers in developing countries has complex and diverse effects on women’s labor dynamics. We study a program that offers free bus rides for women in several Indian states (the Pink Slip program) using a synthetic difference-in-differences approach to shed light on labor supply and time use decisions of women. We observe decreased bus expenses and time saved on travel. Skilled employed women increase labor supply, while low-skill married women shift focus to household chores. Unemployed women intensify job searches, yet overall employment rates remain unchanged. Our findings highlight that alleviating commuting costs does not uniformly boost women’s labor participation, as gender roles and societal norms continue to shape outcomes. |
| JEL: | J16 J22 R41 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32508&r= |
| By: | de Assis, Rebeca Froés; Loureiro, Carlos Felipe Grangeiro; Freitas, Clarissa; Timms, Paul |
| Abstract: | Through cross-sectional analysis, studies on transport-induced gentrification often interpret the phenomenon as an outcome instead of recognizing it as a set of intertwined processes. Consequently, limited insights are provided about the mechanisms underlying gentrification, which manifests gradually over the long-term interactions between transportation and urban development, primally driven by accessibility improvements. The absence of descriptive efforts poses a challenge for policymakers to predict or identify gentrification occurrence, besides inducing biased outcomes in investigations. This paper aims to provide researchers and policymakers with a conceptual framework of transport-induced gentrification, systematising explanations of space production and consumption in Latin-American metropolises. Firstly, we have undergone a theoretical review on land-use and transport interactions to develop an a priori conceptual framework. Subsequently, we applied a systematic literature review on empirical studies of Latin-American gentrification to incorporate some particularities into the framework, representing the phenomenon as an urban conflict generated in and through accessibility improvements. |
| Date: | 2024–05–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:ebf2h&r= |
| By: | Leonov Ivan (Department of Economics, Lomonosov Moscow State University) |
| Abstract: | Since 2019, Russia has implemented quasi-directive pricing in the retail gasoline and diesel fuel markets, and a "big tax maneuver" has started to be implemented. This study aims to assess the impact of the current pricing system for gasoline and diesel fuels on the competitive environment in retail markets. As part of the study, four econometric models were built using the weighted least squares method and using stationary differences instead of stationary series to identify the impact of the "big tax maneuver" on domestic gasoline and diesel prices. Current pricing imbalances are leading to a permanent increase in retail fuel prices, which inevitably leads to an increase in market concentration in the gasoline station segment. There is no steady progress in the institutional environment in the motor fuel market due to increased regulatory uncertainty and expected negative consequence. |
| Keywords: | competition policy, oil industry, price regulation, gasoline pricing, diesel fuel pricing, stock exchange, taxation of the oil industry, big tax maneuver, damper |
| JEL: | L11 L42 L81 H32 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upa:wpaper:0067&r= |