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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Yuriy Ponomarev (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy); Ksenia Rostislav (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy) |
| Abstract: | The transportation complex is the most important component of the modern Russian economy, playing a systemic role, including in terms of the quality of life of the population and economic growth. In the previous years, the transportation industry faced a large number of challenges and crises related to the COVID-19 pandemic and international sanctions restrictions. Accordingly, the priorities for the transportation complex were to adapt to changes in the economy, overcome the “transportation blockade†and rebuild the industry. In 2023, the objectives of the transportation complex development were outlined. One of the achievements of the transportation industry in 2023 is the growth of cargo and passenger flows within the country. Thanks to the redirection from international to domestic transportation, the volume of passenger air transportation was restored. The number of international destinations increased: regular air service was established with 37 countries. The trends that emerged in 2022 continued: a decrease in the volume of cargo turnover by pipeline and air transport, growth in cargo transportation by sea and an increase in the role of motor vehicles in cargo transportation. |
| Keywords: | Russian economy, transportation industry, freight tariffs, passenger traffic, railways |
| JEL: | L91 L92 L93 L99 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gai:ppaper:ppaper-2024-1336 |
| By: | Barbour, Elisa; Alvarez-Coria, Rosanely; Anderson, Hayden; Hosseinzade, Rey; Turner, Katherine; Handy, Susan |
| Abstract: | Vehicle travel, measured as vehicle-miles traveled (VMT), dropped precipitously in California following “stay-in-place” orders issued by the state and counties as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Although VMT rebounded relatively quickly, the state has an opportunity to leverage other changes in household travel behavior so as to achieve its VMT reduction goals while enhancing transportation equity. This report reviews the available evidence on changes in household travel behavior resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and provides an overview of potential state, regional, and local-level policies that could help to preserve changes that help to reduce VMT and reverse those that tend to increase VMT. The review focuses on alternatives to driving, specifically telecommuting, public transit, ride-hailing, e-shopping, and active travel and micro-mobility. View the NCST Project Webpage |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences, telecommuting, public transit, ride-hailing, e-shopping, active travel, micro-mobility |
| Date: | 2023–07–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt5q0076tq |
| By: | Steve Gibbons; Stephan Heblich; Edward W. Pinchbeck |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the reversibility of the effects of transport infrastructure investments, based on a programme that removed much of the rail network in Britain during the mid-20th Century. We find that a 10% loss in rail access between 1950 and 1980 caused a persistent 3% decline in local population relative to unaffected areas, implying that the 1 in 5 places most exposed to the cuts saw 24 percentage points less population growth than the 1 in 5 places that were least exposed. The cuts reduced local jobs and shares of skilled workers and young people. |
| JEL: | H5 N74 R1 R40 |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32800 |
| By: | de Preux, L.;; Miraldo, M.;; Rizmie, D.; |
| Abstract: | Road traffic is the primary source of air pollution in urban areas, as well as an important source of noise. It is increasingly regulated in Europe with noticeable positive effects on air quality and health outcomes. Co-benefits of traffic regulations, such as increased physical activity, are put forward to support the development of such policies. One co-benefit that has yet to be documented is sleep despite being a key determinant of health. We consider a flagship traffic policy in France, the Paris Respire campaign, 1 that was implemented in 2016 and intends to episodically reduce engine traffic related emissions across the city in targeted areas. We estimate its impact on sleep by relying on personalised sleep tracker data capturing individuals’ sleep quantity and quality between 2015 and 2019 (N=938, 386), and implementing a spatial and temporal difference-in-differences framework. The policy decreased daily vehicular traffic in target areas by 24.9% on average across the zones along with non-negligible temporal and geographical spillover effects decaying with distance. Controlling for these spillover effects, we estimate the impact of the policy increases the minutes of total sleep by 2.2% on the night following the application of the policy. We discuss the possible pathways of air pollution and noise pollution, with changes in traffic-related emissions likely being the driver of the effects of the policy. The policy implications are that, if the policy were to be uniformly enforced every weekend over a year, it would result in approximately 2 extra nights of 7-hour sleep inside a target zone. This study offers valuable insights for policymakers and urban planners seeking holistic approaches to improve urban well-being. |
| Keywords: | air pollution; traffic; pedestrianisation; sleep; social impacts; |
| JEL: | I19 I31 Q50 Q51 Q53 |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:hectdg:24/12 |
| By: | Adan L. Martinez Cruz; Yadira Elizabeth Peralta Torres (Division of Economics, CIDE); Valeria Garcia Olivera |
| Abstract: | The travel cost (TC) method models the number of trips to a recreation site as a function of the costs to reach that site. The single site TC equation is particularly vulnerable to endogeneity since travel costs are chosen by the visitor. This paper suggests a control function approach that breaks the correlation between travel costs and the error term by plugging inferred omitted variables into the TC equation. Inference of omitted variables is carried out on an endogenous free, stated preference equation that, arguably, shares omitted variables with the TC equation. By revisiting the TC and contingent valuation (CV) data analyzed by Fixand Loomis (1998), this paper infers the omitted variables from the CV equation via a finite mixture specification -an inference strategy whose justification resembles the use of heteroscedastic errors to construct instruments as suggested by Lewbel (2012). Results show that not controlling for endogeneity in this particular case produces an overestimation of welfare measures. Importantly, this infer and plug-in strategy is pursuable in a number of contexts beyond recreation demand applications. |
| Keywords: | Travel cost method, endogeneity, stated preference responses, control function |
| JEL: | Q26 C26 C29 |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:emc:wpaper:dte632 |
| By: | Mazzocco, Ilaria |
| Abstract: | Chinese firms are leading players in the production of clean energy technologies and appear set to expand further. This paper analyzes trends in Chinese clean tech manufacturing including internationalization, and the outlook for manufacturing facilities outside of China in the clean energy technology industry, including EVs, batteries, and wind turbines. Among the main findings: Chinese clean energy technology companies have been relatively quick to expand their foreign market share but production outside of China is still lagging. Europe is likely to be the preferred destination for Chinese battery, EV, and wind companies but current investments are limited to the battery industry. The production of different technologies is subject to different sets of incentives including cost and political considerations that will determine how quickly companies will internationalize production. Overall, the diversification of production would bolster the resilience of supply chains and economic development but is likely to proceed more quickly for batteries and more slowly for other technologies. |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences, China, renewable energy, technology, industrial policy, manufacturing |
| Date: | 2023–02–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:globco:qt19d8w4xm |
| By: | Fernández, Enrique G.; Borges, Magdalena; Ferraro, Bruno; Rava, Catalina; Lanfranco, Bruno |
| Abstract: | In a collaborative effort with private agents of the oilseed industry, we carried out a research project to determine the feasibility of framing soybean production in Uruguay into sustainable development pathway. We adopted a spatial model based on land suitability analysis to estimate potential yields and the most suitable area for cultivation. We imposed several restrictions to define the potential cropping land based on risk erosion, current and alternative soil uses, transportation and logistics costs, and crop economic margins. We built different price-yields scenarios to estimate the potential area. With all restrictions imposed, the potential soybean area would be 2.1 million hectares by 2050, on rotation with other crops and pastures with an average yield of 3.3 MT/ha. This ad-hoc approach can be extended to any crop situation or region when the objective is to define how far it is possible to expand and intensify production without compromising the environment. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2024–08–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp15:344273 |
| By: | Li, Chunjiang; Widener, Michael |
| Abstract: | Grocery shopping is important household labor that directly impacts diet quality and related downstream health outcomes. Like other household tasks, it is usually divided unequally in opposite-gender households, with women doing more grocery shopping than men. However, common indicators used to identify gender gaps, like activity frequency and duration, are unable to sufficiently depict the full picture of the constraints women may face when engaging in grocery shopping activities. This is especially evident for women in households with children, who often share more care-related labor. To address this gap, this paper examines the gender differences in grocery shopping activities in multiple dimensions, including frequency, duration, grocery store types, travel modes, the presence of companions, time of day, and trip chaining. Drawing upon the Time Use & Food Habits survey conducted in four Canadian cities in 2021, the results show that women and men in households with children exhibit different characteristics of grocery shopping across multiple dimensions. Women compared to men not only spend longer time shopping, but also have a smaller proportion of driving to grocery stores and a larger proportion of shopping during working hours and with companions. Gender differences were further compared among different classifications of grocery shopping patterns identified through latent class analysis. Various gender gaps are found across different classifications, with women shopping with others possibly having some of the most complex constraints. Multinominal logistic regression shows that the shopping with others is associated with relatively lower socioeconomic status, more care responsibilities, and living in an urban area. Overall, this study provides evidence of nuanced gender gaps of grocery shopping in multiple dimensions, within different groups of people, and across a range of cities of various sizes. |
| Date: | 2024–08–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:dnzmb |
| By: | Erick Guerra; Gilles Duranton; Xinyu Ma |
| Abstract: | We predict the amount, share, and value of land dedicated to roadways within and across 316 US Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Despite the amount and value of land dedicated to roadway, our study provides the first such estimate across a broad range of metropolitan areas. Our basic approach is to estimate roadway widths using a 10% sample of widths provided by the Highway Performance and Monitoring System and apply our estimates to the rest of the roadway system. Multiplying estimated widths by segment length and netting out double counting at intersections provide estimates of land area. We also match roadway segments and areas to existing land value estimates and satellite-based measures of urbanized land. We find that a little under a quarter of urbanized land—roughly the size of West Virginia—is dedicated to roadway. This land was worth around $4.1 trillion dollars in 2016 and had an annualized value that was higher than the total variable costs of the trucking sector and the total annual federal, state, and local expenditures on roadway. Conducting a back-of-the-envelope cost-benefit analysis, we found that the country likely has too much land dedicated to urban roads. |
| JEL: | R14 R42 |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32824 |
| By: | Boshuai Zhao; Kai Wang; Wenchao Wei; Roel Leus |
| Abstract: | The Dial-a-Ride Problem (DARP) is an optimization problem that involves determining optimal routes and schedules for several vehicles to pick up and deliver items at minimum cost. Motivated by real-world carpooling and crowdshipping scenarios, we introduce an additional constraint imposing a maximum number on the number of pickups per trip. This results in the Dial-a-Ride Problem with Limited Pickups per Trip (DARP-LPT). We apply a fragment-based method for DARP-LPT, where a fragment is a partial path. Specifically, we extend two formulations from Rist & Forbes (2021): the Fragment Flow Formulation (FFF) and the Fragment Assignment Formulation (FAF). We establish FFF's superiority over FAF, both from a theoretical as well as from a computational perspective. Furthermore, our results show that FFF and FAF significantly outperform traditional arc-based formulations in terms of solution quality and time. Additionally, compared to the two existing fragment sets, one with longer partial paths and another with shorter ones, our newly generated fragment sets perform better in terms of solution quality and time when fed into FFF. |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2408.07602 |