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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Daniel Albalate (Departament d’Econometria, Estadística i Economia Aplicada, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain; Institut de Recerca en Economia Aplicada (IREA-UB), Spain.); Albert Gragera (Departament d’Economia Aplicada, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.); Pere Suau-Sanchez (Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain; Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Cranfield University, UK.) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the liberalisation of high-speed rail (HSR) as a driver of intermodal competition in long-distance passenger transport. While previous research has primarily focused on the effects of HSR infrastructure deployment on aviation, less is known about how opening HSR markets to new entrants reshapes this competition. Drawing on the Spanish HSR liberalisation in 2021, we are the first to evaluate the causal effects of a large-scale liberalisation on competing air transport supply. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find significant long-term reductions in airline seat supply (10- 16%), but limited impact on frequencies. We then uncover two mechanisms underlying these results. First, airlines’ primary response was to down-gauge aircraft. Second, a market share emerged from the need of legacy carriers to preserve frequencies to feed their hub. Our results underscore the broad and significant implications of liberalisation for intermodal substitution. |
| Keywords: | Airlines; High-speed Rail; Liberalisation; Intermodal Competition; Transportation. JEL classification: L43; L51; L92; L93; R41; R42. |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:202514 |
| By: | Juan Sebastian Yanez (Department of Econometrics, Riskcenter-IREA, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.); Montserrat Guillen (Department of Econometrics, Riskcenter-IREA, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.); Paulina Roszkowsk (Bayes Business School, City University of London, United Kingdom.); Jens Perch Nielsen (Bayes Business School, City University of London, United Kingdom.) |
| Abstract: | Private vehicles harm public health by contributing to air pollution and traffic accidents, the leading cause of death among young adults. Despite these risks, drivers often ignore speed limits, while society increasingly prioritizes environmental protection. This tension between personal habits and collective responsibility highlights the urgent need for strategies to promote safer driving practices. Therefore, this paper introduces a novel approach to evaluating road crash risk using air pollutants as exposure measures, so drivers are simultaneously encouraged to reduce their environmental footprint and mitigate their road crash risk. We use a rich dataset of over 1, 500 at-fault crash-related claims recorded over two years provided by an insurance company, merged with detailed telematics driving data for individual vehicles. We show that available emission factor models enable the integration of emission-based exposure measures to model road crash risk. Then, we provide empirical evidence that incorporating behavioral telematics data makes pollutant-driven models as efficient as traditional distance-driven ones. Our proposition has the potential to enhance road safety and reduce air pollution by directly linking environmentally conscious driving practices with reducing road crash risks. |
| Keywords: | Air Pollution; Crash Risk; Public Health; Road Accident; Telematics; Transportation. JEL classification: G22; G52. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:202522 |
| By: | Pol Cosentino |
| Abstract: | Cities are places where people commute to work and where goods are traded across space. While a large literature examines how lower commuting costs reshape cities, much less is known about within-city trade costs as a distinct force. This paper studies both channels using the construction of the Petite Ceinture railroad in nineteenth-century Paris, the world's first circular transit system, designed for both freight and passengers. Using newly digitized data on firms, population, rents, and transport networks spanning 1801 to 1906, I provide causal evidence that improved access to the railroad reshaped the spatial distribution of economic activities during this period. To quantify general equilibrium effects, I develop and calibrate a quantitative urban model in which within-city freight costs generate spatial variation in tradable goods prices, creating consumption-driven forces at the residence absent from canonical models. Counterfactuals show that removing the railroad would substantially reduce total population, consumption of tradables, and spatial specialization. Ignoring within-city freight costs leads to a 17.1% underestimation of the effects of transport infrastructure on urban structure and welfare. |
| Keywords: | commuting, trade, transport infrastructure, quantitative urban model |
| JEL: | R40 R12 R13 F12 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12557 |
| By: | Gerson Kambale Ngalyavuyira (ISP Masereka - Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de Masereka) |
| Abstract: | This article adopts an approach combining historical analysis and measurement of transport networks to examine the impact of infrastructure (national roads, airport, lake route) on urbanization and economic development in the far north of North Kivu (DRC). The findings reveal the powerful agglomeration effects induced by the road network: 91% of the areas studied are located along national roads, while the cities of Beni and Butembo stand out for their high accessibility and commercial and industrial centrality. Conversely, the lake route does not generate structuring effects due to legal and logistical constraints. The study demonstrates that regional urbanization is deeply polarized by road and air infrastructure and recommends better inter-provincial integration of networks as well as appropriate planning policies to reduce territorial imbalances. |
| Abstract: | L'article adopte une approche combinant analyse historique et mesure des réseaux de transport pour examiner l'impact des infrastructures (routes nationales, aéroport, voie lacustre) sur l'urbanisation et le développement économique du Grand-Nord du Nord-Kivu (RDC). Les conclusions révèlent la puissance des effets d'agglomération induits par le réseau routier : 91 % des zones étudiées sont localisées le long des routes nationales, tandis que les villes de Beni et Butembo se distinguent par une forte accessibilité et une centralité commerciale et industrielle. À l'inverse, la voie lacustre ne génère pas d'effets structurants, en raison de contraintes juridiques et logistiques. L'étude démontre que l'urbanisation régionale est profondément polarisée par l'infrastructure routière et aérienne, et recommande une meilleure intégration inter- provinciale des réseaux ainsi que des politiques d'aménagement adaptées afin de réduire les déséquilibres territoriaux. |
| Keywords: | Réseaux de transport, Réseaux de transport Développement économique urbanisation JEL Codes : L98 O18 R58 Transportation network Economic development urbanization JEL Codes : L98 O18 R58, urbanization JEL Codes : L98, Développement économique, urbanisation JEL Codes : L98, O18, R58 Transportation network, Economic development, R58 |
| Date: | 2025–12–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05463607 |
| By: | Wenjing Zhang; Ling Sun; Phu Nguyen-Van (EconomiX - EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the dynamic interactions among global economic policy uncertainty, food prices, and maritime freight rates, focusing on changes in the global food landscape since China's WTO official accession. Using a time-varying parameter vector autoregressive model with stochastic volatility (TVP-VAR-SV), it analyzes the impacts of economic policy changes, environmental policy, geopolitical risks, and global public health events on food and transportation markets. Additionally, it explores how fluctuations in maritime freight rates may affect food prices and, consequently, global economic development. Finally, the paper offers recommendations for food import and export countries to enhance food security and promote sustainable development in food transport firms. |
| Keywords: | global economic policy uncertainty, food market, food maritime transport, TVP-VAR-SV, food security |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05137663 |
| By: | D'Agostino, Mollie C.; Fuller, Samuel PhD |
| Abstract: | Autonomous trucks raise complex and interconnected questions about public safety and the future of labor. This white paper examines this safety and workforce connection through a review of multidisciplinary literature and findings from expert interviews to evaluate three automated trucking pathways: driverless trucks, truck platooning, and automated driving assistance systems (ADAS). A central finding is that human autonomy teams will remain integral across all three trajectories. Humans will co-design, test, supervise, and maintain these systems, playing enduring roles in pre-drive, front-line (including in-vehicle), and remote (off-vehicle) settings. These roles represent durable labor categories whose scope, skill requirements, and job quality will be shaped by regulatory design choices that also influence public safety outcomes. This paper finds that partial automation is likely to expand more rapidly than fully driverless operations, creating near-term opportunities to leverage ADAS technologies to improve safety and workforce retention. Investments in retraining and education can help workers transition into emerging roles, while advances in ADAS and ADS safety standards should explicitly address risks to both workers and the public. Greater coordination across government, labor, and industry will also be essential to implement these strategies and ensure that autonomous trucking supports higher-quality jobs and leads to safer, more resilient goods movement systems. |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences, Autonomous vehicles, Trucks, Vehicle Safety, Workforce development, Labor, Policy analysis |
| Date: | 2026–03–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt9s54q7zq |
| By: | Barbour, Elisa PhD; Gordon-Feierabend, Lev; Kaeppelin, Francois |
| Abstract: | Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a strategy that promotes building housing, shops, offices, and other destinations near public transit stations. TOD is compact and walkable, supports public transit use, reduces car dependency, and can help lower greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing the number of miles people drive. California has adopted many policies in recent years– at the state, regional, and local levels– to encourage TOD as part of its broader climate and housing goals. At the same time, the state faces a housing affordability crisis. In the past seven years, state lawmakers have passed more than 100 bills aimed at increasing housing production, particularly in areas near public transit. |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences |
| Date: | 2026–03–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt0qb0k3hr |
| By: | Jan Baran; Patryk Czechowski; Jakub Mućk |
| Abstract: | In this paper we examine the role of the electromobility transformation for exports of the automotive sector. To do so, we propose a novel mapping of granular codes of automotive products into three categories: (i) combustion-specific, (ii) neutral, and (iii) electric-specific. We estimate a standard gravity model of the trade flows of automotive products, comparing the three categories with each other. We demonstrate that key drivers of export of the electric-specific products are similar to the combustion-specific ones. However, exports related to electric vehicles are more technologically intensive and supported by either a domestic R&D potential or international knowledge spillovers through FDI. In particular, export-oriented production of electric-specific intermediates proves to be to a large extent R&D intensive. Our results also suggest that the ongoing structural change in the automotive industry leads rather to intra-industry reorganization than to more fundamental restructuring of existing Global Value Chains. |
| Keywords: | automotive industry, international trade, gravity model of trade, structural change, electric vehicles, electromobility, Global Value Chains |
| JEL: | F14 L16 L62 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sgh:kaewps:2026122 |
| By: | Giulia Rossello; Domenico Buccella; Nicola Meccheri; Marcella Scrimitore |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates three different port air emissions abatement measures– i) emission taxes, ii) subsidies on abatement technology investments and iii) emission standard–in a reciprocal trade model, where two firms (one firm located in each country) compete choosing the quantity to export and the quantity of domestic market. To export, firms need two ports, one located in each country, and each country’s government chooses a policy to regulate pollution produced by its port. We aim at investigating how shipping costs and the port ownership shape the incentives towards exports and abatement of both the port and government in each country. The analysis points out the relative effectiveness of alternative policies in achieving environmental sustainability and society’s welfare objectives. Specifically, the environmental damage is minimized under emission standard regardless of any degree of port privatization. However, emission standards turn out to never dominate the other policies in the perspective of consumer surplus and overall domestic welfare. Depending on the degree of port privatization, either environmental taxes or abatement subsidies result as the domesticwelfare-maximizing policy, but only environmental taxes emerge as endogenous choice by governments. |
| Keywords: | international oligopoly, port privatization, emission tax, abatement subsidy, environmental standard, welfare |
| JEL: | D43 F18 H23 L33 R48 |
| Date: | 2026–03–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pie:dsedps:2026/329 |
| By: | Parker, Madeleine E.G. PhD; Chapple, Karen PhD |
| Abstract: | California faces the loss of thousands of affordable rental units in the coming decade as affordability restrictions—known as covenants—expire. These agreements, signed between housing developers and government agencies, typically last 15 to 30 years and require that units be rented at below-market rates. When covenants expire, owners can convert units to market-rate housing, often displacing lower-income families.In Southern California alone, over 17, 000 affordable units are at risk of conversion, and nearly 70% of these units are located near high-quality transit. If the owners of these properties do not enter into new covenants, these units will be placed on the open market, likely leading to the displacement of lower-income residents to the urban outskirts, resulting in longer commutes and reduced access to reliable transit. To better understand the risk of losing affordable units, we analyzed historic data on affordable housing conversion and identified key factors that influence whether at-risk properties are preserved or lost. |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences |
| Date: | 2026–03–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsrrp:qt7cg95810 |
| By: | Mingyang Fu; Ming Hu |
| Abstract: | We study a spatiotemporal service matching problem in which demand, heterogeneous in location and time sensitivity/preference, is to be assigned to service stations. The planner seeks to maximize social welfare, defined as total service reward minus spatial and temporal costs, by optimally scheduling demand to stations and service time under processing capacity constraints. We formulate the problem as an optimal transport (OT) model that allows for both demand-capacity imbalance and endogenously unserved demand when service costs exceed rewards. Leveraging a barycenter-style decomposition, we reformulate the problem as a finite-dimensional convex optimization problem that generalizes semi-discrete OT and enables scalable computation. We characterize the geometry of optimal assignments, showing that spatial partitions correspond to generalized Laguerre cells. Temporally, we show that the structure of the optimal schedule depends on demand heterogeneity: when demand differs only in temporal cost sensitivity, higher-sensitivity demand is assigned service times closer to the common ideal time; when demand differs only in preferred times, the assignment is order-preserving with respect to preferred times. We further propose an envy-free, individually rational implementation of the optimal schedule using time-dependent pricing and a finite-slot mechanism with explicit bounds depending on the number of required slots. To illustrate the framework, we extend the classic Hotelling linear-city model on a line segment by incorporating a continuum of waiting-cost sensitivities, demonstrating how optimal spatial partitions vary with changes in sensitivity heterogeneity and reward. |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2603.14226 |