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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Adeline Gu\'eret; Carlos Gaete-Morales; Wolf-Peter Schill |
| Abstract: | While battery electric vehicles (BEVs) play a key role for decarbonizing the transport sector, their impact on the power sector heavily depends on their charging strategies. Here we systematically analyze various combinations between inflexible, smart and bidirectional (or vehicle-to-grid, V2G) charging of 15 million electric cars in Germany. Using a capacity expansion model, we find that even a moderate share of bidirectional charging below 30% leads to lower system costs than a fully smartly charging BEV fleet. At a V2G share of 50%, costs are even lower than in a system without any BEVs. This means that the flexibility effect of half of the BEV fleet charging bidirectionally outweighs the demand effect of the whole BEV fleet. We show how costs savings are driven by the ability of V2G to serve demand, especially during hours with high residual load. We also explore the distributional effects of respective electricity price changes. While V2G car owners internalize a substantial share of overall cost savings, the benefits increasingly spill over to other electricity consumers as the share of bidirectional charging grows. We conclude that policymakers should focus on enabling a moderate fleet share of V2G rather than on enabling every car to charge smartly. |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2509.15284 |
| By: | Adam Storeygard |
| Abstract: | This brief survey reviews recent work on transportation in poor and middle-income countries. After reviewing a few key global facts and taking stock of the data available, it focuses on eight key themes that are emphasized in this literature relative to work on transportation in rich countries. In urban areas, these are private/informal transit, interactions with other informal markets, gender, bus rapid transit, and quantity-based congestion policy. Elsewhere, they are the legacy of colonialism, rural roads, and potential negative effects of improved transportation infrastructure. |
| JEL: | O10 R40 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34354 |
| By: | Roth, Jakob; Schwab, Laura; Hintermann, Beat; Götschi, Thomas; Meister, Adrian; Meyer de Freitas, Lucas; Axhausen, Kay W. |
| Abstract: | This study presents results from a randomized controlled trial involving 1, 085 participants in Switzerland that have access to an E-bike, a car, and public transport. The participants’ transport choices are monitored by means of a GPS-based tracking app. The treatment consists in a monetary incentive that approximates the main external costs and benefits associated with transport in the spirit of a Pigovian tax. This tax reduces transport-related external costs by 6.9 %, which corresponds to 78 Swiss francs per person and year (currently equivalent to 94 US dollars). The main underlying mechanism is a mode shift away from driving towards E-biking, public transport and walking. The results are primarily driven by individuals who own an S-pedelec with support up to 45 km/h, rather than users of the more common E-bikes that provide support up to 25 km/h. The pricing also induces a travel shift towards less congested time windows |
| Keywords: | Transport, Field experiment, GPS tracking, bicycle, E-bike, external costs, Pigovian taxation, transport pricing |
| JEL: | H23 H31 I18 Q54 Q58 R41 R48 |
| Date: | 2025–05–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bsl:wpaper:2025/05 |
| By: | Atoyan, Vardan; Matevosyan, Diana |
| Abstract: | The growing geopolitical tensions and regional instabilities in Eurasia raise urgent questions about the resilience of trade routes and infrastructure connectivity. This paper applies a graphbased approach to model the EU-Asia trade network and explores Armenia's potential as a transit hub within the framework of the Global Gateway strategy. The authors construct a weighted network of major regional players based on bilateral trade volumes, geographic distances, and route accessibility. In this network, nodes represent key countries, while edges capture trade relationships, with weights reflecting trade intensity and logistical characteristics. Using a set of graph-theoretical metrics, including degree centrality, betweenness centrality, closeness centrality, and eigenvector centrality, the authors assess the country's importance within the network, identifying its position as a potential chokepoint or facilitator of alternative trade routes. Stress-testing scenarios, including border closures, sanctions, or the reopening of previously closed borders, are simulated to evaluate the impact on trade flows and regional logistics. These scenarios simulate the dynamic nature of trade flows, considering disruptions that could reshape existing networks. Results indicate significant shifts in the network structure under stress, highlighting opportunities for Armenia to strengthen its strategic position as an alternative node in critical corridors. |
| Keywords: | Graph, Logistic Network, Eurasian Corridors, Trade, Armenia |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:opodis:328267 |
| By: | Helmers, Viola |
| Abstract: | Using data from a 2024 survey among 3, 052 participants in Germany, this study looks at the modal split indicator from the perspective of laypersons. This indicator is often used to communicate local mobility goals with the public. We investigate whether people are able to guess the modal split distribution in their locale, which modal split would be ideal in their view, and how these perceptions influence opinions on public spending for transportation. We also examine whether showing examples of real modal splits to a random subset of participants influences accuracy or any of our other markers. Results indicate that participants have some trouble guessing modal split proportions, and that the examples did not significantly improve this. For example, only 17% of participants' guesses for the car share are within 5 percentage points of the real split. However, 85.6% of participants would like the share of car trips to be lower by on average 22.2 percentage points (mean perceived car share is 55.2%). Additionally, introducing people to the concept of the modal split without also giving real world reference points negatively influences the amount of public funds they would like to be assigned to sustainable transportation modes. |
| Abstract: | Anhand von Daten aus einer Umfrage unter 3.052 Teilnehmern in Deutschland aus dem Jahr 2024 untersucht diese Studie den Modal-Split-Indikator aus der Perspektive von Laien. Dieser Indikator wird häufig verwendet, um der Öffentlichkeit regionale Mobilitätsziele zu vermitteln. Wir untersuchen anhand einer Befragung, ob die Teilnehmenden in der Lage sind, die Modal-Split-Verteilung in ihrer Region zu schätzen, welcher Modal Split ihrer Meinung nach ideal wäre und wie diese Wahrnehmungen die Meinung über öffentlichen Ausgaben für den Verkehr beeinflussen. Wir untersuchen auch, ob zusätzliche Informationen über reale Modal Splits die Genauigkeit oder andere Ergebnisse beeinflusst. Es zeigt sich, dass die Teilnehmenden Schwierigkeiten haben, die Anteile der Verkehrsmittelaufteilung zu schätzen, und dass die Beispiele dies nicht wesentlich verbessern. So liegen beispielsweise nur 17% der Schätzungen der Teilnehmer für den Anteil des Pkw-Verkehrs innerhalb von 5 Prozentpunkten des tatsächlichen Anteils. Allerdings würden 85, 6% der Teilnehmer den Anteil der Autofahrten um durchschnittlich 22, 2 Prozentpunkte senken wollen (der durchschnittlich wahrgenommene Anteil des Autoverkehrs beträgt 55, 2%). Darüber hinaus wirkt sich die Heranführung an das Konzept des Modal Split ohne reale Bezugspunkte negativ auf die Höhe der öffentlichen Mittel aus, die sie für nachhaltige Verkehrsmittel bereitstellen möchten. |
| Keywords: | Modal split, perception bias, mobility preferences, information treatment, public spending, policy communication |
| JEL: | R40 R42 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:328239 |
| By: | Akbaripour, Navid (Stockholm School of Economics); Bos, Marieke (Mistra Center for Sustainable Markets (Misum)); Mahdikhani, Ehsan (Stockholm School of Economics); Olafsson, Arna (Stockholm School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Financial markets are increasingly seen as pivotal in mitigating climate change by influencing consumer choices. This paper studies the introduction of a green loan program in Iceland that offers an interest rate rebate for electric vehicle (EV) purchases, and analyzes who selects these loans and how adopting an electric car affects household finances. Using transaction-level data from a large Icelandic bank, we compare green car loan takers to regular car loan takers. We find that green loan adopters tend to be more affluent, have larger families, live in areas with strong Green Party support, and are more financially literate and more likely to have previously invested in green bonds, indicating both pro-environment and financial-awareness channels in selection. They also exhibit different pre-purchase consumption patterns (e.g., lower spending on gasoline and higher spending on other carbon-intensive goods) even before switching to an EV. After the purchase, green loan households dramatically reduce gasoline expenditures (about 30% on average) while increasing electricity costs modestly (around 13%), resulting in a net decline in monthly car-related outlays of roughly 10, 000 ISK (≈$77). This corresponds to a 0.8 percentage point drop in the household’s energy-expenditure-to-income ratio and implies sizable reductions in fuel-related CO2 emissions. We further show that exogenous liquidity windfalls significantly increase the likelihood of choosing a green car loan: lottery winners who subsequently buy a car are 12-13 percentage points more likely to opt for an EV. However, because current green loan take-up is heavily skewed toward wealthier, already green consumers, the aggregate carbon reductions remain limited. Our findings suggest that green loan programs can both cut carbon emissions and save consumers money, but only if complemented by policies to broaden access beyond the environmentally motivated and financially well-off. |
| Keywords: | Sustainable Finance; Green Loans; Household Finance |
| JEL: | G00 |
| Date: | 2025–09–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:hamisu:2025_003 |
| By: | Anh D. Do; Sharat Ganapati; Woan Foong Wong; Oren Ziv |
| Abstract: | The majority of global trade moves by sea through hub-and-spoke shipping networks. We investigate the returns to being a hub country by analyzing how transshipment activity shapes trade and supply chains. We show that most US imports---especially from smaller origin countries---are transshipped via key hubs, and transshipment is positively correlated with the hub's product-level trade. Leveraging the indirect shipping network structure to construct an instrument, we find that transshipment increases hubs' imports from origins for which they facilitate trade and exports of downstream goods, highlighting their central role in shaping modern global trade and supply chain dynamics. |
| JEL: | F10 F13 F14 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34361 |
| By: | Rubing Li (Stern School of Business, New York University, New York, NY, USA); Xiao Liu (Stern School of Business, New York University, New York, NY, USA); Arun Sundararajan (Stern School of Business, New York University, New York, NY, USA) |
| Abstract: | In February 2024, Lyft introduced a policy guaranteeing drivers at least 70\% of rider payments while also increasing per-ride earnings transparency. The rollout of this policy was staggered, first introduced in “major markets” that were more urban, and provided a natural experiment to assess how platform transparency and earnings guarantees affect ridesharing availability, driver engagement and rider satisfaction. Using trip-level data from over 47 million rides in a major urban market and its neighboring suburban markets across six months, we applied dynamic staggered difference-in-differences models to measure the causal effects of these platform design changes on supply- and demand-side outcomes, and ensuing ridesharing performance. We show that the design change led to substantial changes in driver engagement, with separate effects from the guarantee and the transparency. Drivers increased their working hours and utilization, leading to more completed trips and higher per-hour and per-trip earnings. These effects were strongest for drivers with lower pre-policy earnings and greater income uncertainty. We unpack the economic mechanism by which increased supply also had a positive spillover on demand, boosting rider app engagement and booking conversions and lowering wait times in high demand areas. We also provide some evidence that points to platform transparency potentially leading to unintended strategic driver behavior. Finally, we develop a counterfactual simulation framework that models ride production as a function of driver supply hours and rider intents. Using this model, we identify optimized supply reallocation strategies that could increase overall ride production by up to 39\%. |
| Keywords: | Ride-hailing, Platform Regulation, Gig Workers, Transparency, Earning Floor, Pricing |
| JEL: | L1 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:net:wpaper:2509 |