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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Hansz, Martín; Rivas, María Eugenia; Borja Plaza, Leonel Alejandro; Sánchez González, Santiago; Sabogal-Cardona, Orlando |
| Abstract: | School absenteeism remains a significant challenge across Latin America and the Caribbean, with serious implications for educational trajectories, particularly among vulnerable students. While absenteeism is determined by multiple factors, increasing attention has focused on how physical accessibility and travel conditions affect school attendance, particularly under adverse weather conditions. In Montevideo, where a substantial share of students walk to school, rainfall emerges as a particularly relevant disruptor. In this context, this study analyses the extent to which the quality of infrastructure providing access to schools mitigates the impact of rainfall on school attendance in Montevideo. To this end, a panel of data at student-day level is constructed, integrating georeferenced administrative data on students and schools, geospatial information on road and pedestrian infrastructure, and daily rainfall records. Based on this dataset, discrete choice models are estimated to assess the differential impact of rainfall on the probability of school absenteeism, considering the quality and availability of road and pedestrian infrastructure for school access. The results show that rainfall significantly increases the probability of school absenteeism in Montevideo, an effect that is mitigated under better transport infrastructure conditions, particularly where paved roads and pedestrian infrastructure are available. However, this tends not to be the context of the most vulnerable students, who are disproportionately exposed to poorer infrastructure conditions, compounding existing inequalities and increasing their exposure to rainfall disruptions, ultimately affecting effective access to education. Overall, the results indicate that better transport infrastructure can mitigate the effects of rainfall on school attendance, which provides relevant evidence for public policy design, highlighting the need to coordinate education, transport and climate resilience agendas. |
| JEL: | I24 R41 R42 Q54 C23 |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:14783 |
| By: | Cecilia H. Moreira; Steven L. Puller; Ini Umosen |
| Abstract: | School choice can weaken the link between residential neighborhood and educational opportunity only if students can reach the schools available to them. We study school choice in Chicago, where high schoolers can choose among schools throughout the city but generally rely on public transit, making the structure of the transit network a key determinant of opportunity. Using student-level rankings and public transit travel times, we document two systematic patterns: Black students are less likely to rank top-rated schools first and face longer public transit times to such schools. We estimate a discrete choice model to separate the value placed on schools from the costs of reaching them. We find that high schools vary substantially in how they are valued and that there is a high degree of agreement across racial groups in their relative ranking. However, transit times vary significantly across neighborhoods, generating racial differences in demand for top-rated schools. Counterfactually, giving Black students the travel times of white students increases demand for top-rated schools by 23 percentage points. Finally, we identify underserved neighborhoods where public transit access constrains demand and quantify how targeted bus service would increase demand for high-quality schools. Our counterfactuals quantify how transportation expands school access. |
| JEL: | I21 I24 R4 |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35915 |
| By: | Giuseppe Rocco (Department of Economics and Management, University of Ferrara; Sustainability, Environmental Economics and Dynamic Studies (SEEDS)) |
| Abstract: | Walking School Bus (WSB) programmes, in which children walk to school in groups under adult supervision, are increasingly promoted as a sustainable alternative to private car use. However, participation remains limited and uneven across cities. This paper examines the behavioural, social, and economic factors associated with parental participation in Ferrara (Italy). It draws on a survey of 711 parents from 15 primary schools. The analysis compares three groups of parents: those whose children actively participate in a WSB, those in schools where the service exists but is not used, and those in schools without the service. The findings show broad agreement on the environmental and educational value of the WSB. At the same time, they reveal a persistent reliance on private transport. Logistical and organisational barriers, such as distance from collection points, schedule incompatibility, and the scarcity of volunteers, are more relevant than value-based resistance. Interpersonal trust and civic engagement are associated with participation, but they need to be combined with organisational and institutional support to translate into stable participation. Willingness to Pay and Willingness to Accept suggest that parents perceive the WSB as a collective good with high symbolic value, rather than as a monetizable service. The paper provides the descriptive and theoretical foundation for a companion paper that will estimate ordered logit models on WTP and WTA. |
| Keywords: | Walking School Bus; Parental perspectives; Active school travel; Survey data; Sustainable mobility; Social practice |
| JEL: | D91 R41 Q56 H41 I28 |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:srt:wpaper:1326 |
| By: | Francesco Zanetti; XIWEN BAI; JESÚS FERNÁNDEZ-VILLAVERDE; YILIANG LI; RICARDO MARTO |
| Abstract: | We study the macroeconomic and trade-policy implications of disruptions to U.S.-bound shipping routes. Standard models treat them as iceberg-cost shocks, conflating the shock with the response to it. Using satellite vessel-tracking data, we construct route-level measures of potential and effective capacity for all U.S.-bound container ships from 2016 to 2025. Utilization losses in recent disruptions ran 20 to 40 percentage points, and began months before port congestion became visible. We embed these measures in a general equilibrium model in which firms reallocate a common fleet without internalizing the congestion they create and price above marginal cost, while importers sourcing responds to route profitability. The reallocation triggered by a disruption then has first-order welfare effects, and the routes Domar weight is not a sufficient statistic for its welfare cost. The 2021 West Coast crisis and the 2023–2024 Red Sea attacks cost 0.69% and 0.35% of output. Naval protection of Red Sea shipping generated benefits of 0.04–0.08% of output at a fiscal cost of 0.02%. Tariffs decongest the routes they tax, offsetting or even reversing their conventional welfare cost. |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cnn:wpaper:26-016e |
| By: | Georges Dionne (HEC Montréal) |
| Abstract: | In this short story, I describe the origin of the Québec public automobile insurance pricing based on demerit points. |
| Keywords: | Automobile insurance pricing; demerit points; road safety prevention; road accidents |
| JEL: | B15 B26 D81 D82 G22 |
| Date: | 2026–10–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:crcrmw:023788 |
| By: | Matsuda, Norihiko; Fasih, Tazeen; Nomura, Shinsaku; Tas, Emcet Oktay |
| Abstract: | In the presence of gender-specific barriers, certain workplace environments and amenities may be particularly important for women, yet difficult to observe during job search due to information frictions. A large-scale field experiment on Pakistan's online job board publicized these job characteristics—namely, supervisor gender, coworker gender composition, work flexibility, commuting support, and overnight travel requirements. Information on these characteristics was randomly disclosed in job advertisements and email alerts. Analysis at the job-alert level shows that female jobseekers respond to supervisor gender, remote work, and commuting support. At the job level, when these characteristics were disclosed, the number of female applicants increased as the jobs were more favorable to women. |
| Date: | 2026–10–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11484 |