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This paper reviews the basic issues involved in identifying and providing solutions to transport problems. The paper argues that solutions focusing solely on investment in capacity or second-best solutions to pricing such as road pricing and free public transport ignore the essential economic relationships involved in transport. The paper provides a critique of investment and pricing and argues for a more integrated approach in which optimal pricing is a core consideration in any investment decisions. This is seen as particularly important in a post Covid-19 world where many of the fundamental drivers of transport demand have changed, and public authorities face significant constraints on budgets whilst new pressures such as commitments to net zero in the face of global warming threats add additional pressures. The paper offers some thoughts on the principles involved in establishing a more suitable structure for dealing with the transport problem. • Identifies the core elements of the transport problem as pricing and investment. • Reviews problems in implementing first-best pricing. • Critiques investment decisions in the light of wider economic impacts. • Considers changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and the move to net-zero. • Offers a set of principles for reforming transport policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing literature on inland ports has rarely discussed the regional economic dimension of inland port development. The economic impact of inland ports on host cities and regions is unclear. This paper accordingly seeks to fill this gap by analyzing the economic impact of the Yangtze River inland ports on regional development. To this end, this paper analyses the impact of inland port activities on regional development for a sample of 22 inland ports located in the Yangtze River Basin, observed over the period 2000–2018. The paper uses a spatial econometric model to estimate the direct and spillover effects associated with inland port activities. The results indicate that while Yangtze River inland ports induce a non-negligible economic impact on local economic development, positive and larger spatial spillover effects occur outside the host city where the inland port is located. This paper provides new evidence for the economic impact of inland ports on regional development and provides the basis for the policy of investing in the Yangtze River inland ports. • The spatial spillover effect of Yangtze River inland ports on regional economic development is investigated. • Inland ports tend to promote the economic development of the cities where they are located. • Also inland ports have a large positive indirect (spillover) effect on the economic development of neighboring cities. • The spillover effect on the neighboring cities is far greater than the direct effect on its local cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The usefulness of transportation project evaluation depends on the completeness of its benefit measures. Since transportation networks are intrinsically spatial, transportation improvement projects have spatial access and location characteristics that can lead to a variety of non-user economic benefits. Recent research has enabled us to better understand how spatial context and spatial heterogeneity play further roles in generating efficiency gains for non-users, in the form of productivity, income, and cost savings for both private and public sectors of the economy. This paper draws upon that body of research to expand our understanding of the means by which transportation projects can generate economic efficiency gains, and approaches needed to measure them. It covers topics beyond those captured by current definitions of "wider economic benefits," including additional sources of scale economies associated with freight distribution and connectivity, and further public and private sector economic gains enabled by environmental and social inclusion improvement. It points to ways that non-user economic benefits can be more comprehensively defined and better measured by recognizing their spatial scale, context, and threshold effects. It also identifies ways that current benefit measurement methods introduce unintended bias into transportation investment decision-making through omission and mismeasurement. The result is a case for a refresh of thinking about how we classify and recognize non-user economic benefits in transportation evaluation, and how we apply transportation planning and economic models to support their measurement. • Transport decisions biased when non-user benefits are ignored or mis-measured. • Non-user economic benefits depend on spatial access, proximity, or connectivity. • Spatial scale, context, and heterogeneity affect measurement of non-user benefit. • Benefits from freight density, virtual density, effective density, non-user cost. • Rigid travel modeling standards hold back non-user benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) is a rail-sea intermodal transport corridor whose fundamental purpose is to closely connect western China and ASEAN through shortening the transport distance and trade time cost. Since the ILSTC is still a new initiative, there are few research focusing on its performance and implementation effects. Using computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, this paper attempts to analyze the economic impacts of the ILSTC since 2019 by simulating the scenario of transport time cost reduction. Results show that the ILSTC can promote the gross domestic product of China and the entire ASEAN by 0.20% and 0.84%, respectively; China's and the whole ASEAN's social welfare are both improved by more than US$10 billion; China's export and import with the whole ASEAN increases by 9.97% and 9.54%, respectively; The value-added trade flow contained in China's intermediate products which export to ASEAN countries first and finally return to China become larger; The impact on different sectors are heterogeneous, in which bilateral value-added and gross trade of grains and crops would increase most significantly; The value-added provided from service industry are also improved. Overall, the ILSTC plays a more important role in promoting the macro-economy of China and ASEAN countries than trade liberalization. On these basis, related conclusions for the promotion of commercial relationship between China and ASEAN countries are proposed, hoping to provide reference for traders and policy makers. • Measure the economic effects of China and ASEAN countries from the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC). • Expand the simulation results from the perspective of value-added trade to track changes in intra-industry trade. • Shed lights on better policy options between trade liberalization and the ILSTC for policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper provides a systematic review of the growing research into the wider economic benefits, or WEBs, of air transport. • It analyses what constitutes a WEB, distinguishing them from related wider economic impacts (WEIs). • The paper provides a critical discussion of possible sources of WEBs and how WEBs might be evaluated. • The paper provides an overall review of the characteristics of suggested WEBs and ways of improving their measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid fall of photovoltaic generation and battery storage costs can pave the way for future distributed power systems. However, transitioning from centralized to distributed systems has economic implications for different power sector stakeholders: incumbent energy firms, new distributed generation investors, and consumers. Consumers can significantly increase demand by adopting electric transport, a crucial component of decarbonization. In turn, investors and firms will need to provide the capital and operating capability to supply more power, even for self-consumption. In this paper, we develop a methodology to assess the future average price of electricity for two fundamentally different systems: one based on utility-scale projects and another based on distributed generation. We also evaluate how prices affect the financial benefits of energy sector investors and transport users that result from transport electrification. We apply the methodology to Costa Rica's transport electrification objectives, a middle-income country with vast renewable generation capacity with pledges to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. We find that the future unit costs of solar and wind generation with energy storage infrastructure affect electricity prices more than other uncertainties. In turn, prices have a high correlation with transport benefits. We also find that low discount rates produce high benefits and low electricity prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper re-examines the implementation of the short run marginal cost (SRMC) pricing principle with respect to rail infrastructure usage and empirically tests if there are rail infrastructure maintenance costs triggered by traffic but not caused by asset damage from traffic. This is important because current EU legislation stipulates that only costs related to infrastructure wear and tear from traffic are eligible for the direct cost-based element of track access charges. An econometric approach is applied to French panel data on signalling maintenance costs. The results show that the SRMC for infrastructure provision of these assets is not only related to asset damage costs caused by traffic, but can also be due to economic factors linked to increased line capacity utilisation: 1) higher cost per maintenance activity, and/or 2) increased preventative maintenance to curb delays. Our work offers an explanation as to why econometric and engineering approaches give different views of rail infrastructure cost variability and suggests that EU legislation on track access pricing may need to be revised. • Rail infrastructure maintenance costs vary with traffic even with no asset damage. • Traffic can trigger maintenance to mitigate delays, despite no extra asset damage. • EU track access charge legislation needs adapting to account for economic factors. • Economic factors explain differences between engineering and econometric methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional mobility of economic production factors accelerates the globalization of the associated economies and impacts firm diffusion trends. The Belt and Road Initiative aims to facilitate the orderly flow of economic production factors along the Sino-Europe Economic Corridor. However, little is known about the effects of locational accessibility on firm relocations with such an initiative. Conceptualizing locational accessibility based on elementary production factors, this paper proposed a methodological framework to analyze the potential firm diffusion trends by applying the percolation theory in a multimodal freight supernetwork. The empirical analysis concerns two typical manufacturing industries along the Sino-Europe Economic Corridor. The results show that the percolation transition happens during the diffusion of the two manufacturing industries considering land rent, labor cost, and freight transport cost as the elementary production factors. It is found that the improvement in transport accessibility accelerates the diffusion trends of the manufacturing industries, although the bottleneck regions for the diffusion of both industries do not change comparatively. The proposed methodological framework acts as an efficient testbed for analyzing the regional diffusion trends of different types of industries. • Multimodal freight transport costs are incorporated in locational accessibility. • Percolation theory is employed to analyze firm diffusion based on locational accessibility. • Firm diffusion trends of two typical manufacturing industries are analyzed. • Locational accessibility has significant effects on percolation transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport is one the most important sectors in the economy, but it also implies some cost, as it is responsible for an important amount of gas emissions, which favours the greenhouse effect (GHE) and climate change. In Spain, the sector of transport represents the 25% of total greenhouse sources. From this perspective, the impact of transport is important not only from an economic perspective but also in terms of its environmental impact. The transport of cargo is also responsible for an important amount of these emissions, as it represents more than 30% of all modes of transport's GHG emissions. The objective of this paper is to apprise the long-term environmental and economic impact in Andalusia of the new rail infrastructure known as Mediterranean Corridor. It will absorb an important part of the transport of cargo by road from the Port of Algeciras, which is one of the most important in Spain and an important node of this rail corridor. The effect is simulated through the use of a Computational General Equilibrium (CGE) model with a dynamic component, the vector of GHG emissions and calibrated with the Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) of 2013 of Andalusia with the modes of transport disaggregated. The results show how positive is the economic impact of this infrastructure, but also how environmental benefits outweigh economic ones, arising the need of assessing also environmental impacts and not only the economic ones. • The new infrastructure has a negligible economic impact in Andalusia in terms of GDP. • In terms of employment, it has a negative impact in the sector of transport by road of about 1300 jobs. • Jobs created by transport by rail do not offset this loss, but its positive indirect/induced effect reverse this situation. • In terms of emissions, modal shift has a positive impact, valued in more than 50.000 equivalent tons of CO2 in Andalusia. • In ground transport, the emissions are reduced by a 1,6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of high-speed rail (HSR) in China has raised questions about its implications for regional economic growth. Most existing studies take an aggregate approach to quantify the economic impacts of HSR entrance primarily by inspecting the effect of the dummy variable which reflects the existence of HSR service. This paper takes one step further to investigate how network effects play a role in realizing these impacts. In particular, the effects of location endowment characteristics (evaluated by accessibility and connectivity) enabled by HSR development and the spatial interdependent effects (reflected by neighbors' impacts) are examined. Based on the panel data from China during 2007–2015, we find that when these new factors are taken into account, the effect of the HSR dummy variable (reflecting the existence of HSR service) on regional economic growth is insignificant. On the contrary, the effects of both location endowment measurements, accessibility and connectivity in the railway network, and neighboring effects are significant. These important observations imply that: (1) The economic impact of HSR is largely accomplished by improving accessibility and connectivity in the railway network rather than an isolated presence of HSR infrastructure; (2) The accessibility and connectivity of neighboring cities impact the economic growth of one another; (3) HSR development has generated uneven economic growth concerning the cities in different geographic regions and with different population scales; (4) There is a mismatch between where the accessibility improves the most and where unit improvement generates the largest economic growth; (5) Accessibility and connectivity improvement by railway resulted in a smaller increase in economic growth than that of highway, but larger than those by air and water. These implications shed light on policies regarding multi-modal transport system planning, transport infrastructure investment, and HSR development and operations. • Roles of network effects in the economic impact of HSR are identified. •Benefit of HSR is primarily realized by improving accessibility and connectivity. •Accessibility and connectivity of neighbors impact the economic growth of one another. •Spatial mismatch exists in maximums of accessibility change and economic impact. •Effect of HSR on economic growth is smaller than highway, larger than air and water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The port sectors in a country play an important role in its economy. This paper presents an input-output analysis on how the port sectors impact a concerned economy using the South African case. Moreover, this paper reports how a rectangular Supply and Use Table system of national accounts can be converted to a traditional square symmetric matrix type system. A range of models, such as demand-driven, supply-driven and price models, were derived for the estimation. From these models, the production effect together with the forward and backward linkage effects, price change effects and employment effects were estimated to determine the impact of port sectors. The overall forward linkage effect of the port sector was 0.97 and the backward one was 0.48, indicating that the port sector does not appear to use other sectors much in producing its activities whereas the port sector is used relatively more by other industries owing to its relatively high forward linkage effect. The overall impact effect of the port sector per unit shortage on all other products was found to be 1.1705. Therefore, one unit shortage in the port sector would have incurred a 17% loss to the entire economy in 2002. Leontief׳s price model was used for the scenario that what would occur if the price of port sector׳s cost was increased by various ranges from 5%, 10% and 30% to 50% and 100%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The New South Wales (NSW) government created the Sydney Metro Authority to design, build and operate a completely separate underground Metro rail system to supplement the existing public transport network in Sydney. By the time the NSW government abruptly cancelled the entire Metro project in early 2010, the authority had conceived and designed a contract that was proceeding to procurement. This paper examines the nature of the proposed Sydney Metro contract in relation to its performance framework and compares this to the frameworks in current contracts for bus, rail and ferry public transport in Sydney. Against this background, the paper examines the extent to which the Sydney Metro approach has had an impact on subsequent public transport contracts in the context of the literature on public private contracting and incentives for public transport procurement. The paper concludes that little has been implemented, although the other mode contracts now enable more performance measurement and incentivisation. In particular, the decision to award contracts to existing (and mostly public sector) operators appears to have acted as a brake on developing these performance elements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Inaccuracies in forecasting create serious problems for transportation projects. To improve forecasting accuracy, researchers must investigate the reasons for the inaccuracies. However, very little research has been done, and the percentage of errors for each reason has rarely been examined. After perusing various studies on forecasting inaccuracies, the authors determined that an in-depth case study was necessary. This paper describes such a case study: an overestimate in a forecast of travel demand, forecast using the four-step method, for the Tokadai Line rail service in a suburb of Nagoya, Japan. The paper examines the following factors behind the errors: target area, population, modal split, failure to consider the effects of a competing railway, inappropriate selection of modal choice model, and an incomplete network. Through this case, three implications of general inaccuracies in forecasting are presented. First, while previous studies have shown that input uncertainties are larger than model uncertainties, this does not mean that inputs cause larger errors. Second, the uncertainties related to inputs must be prioritised. Finally, the reasons for the inaccuracies are more difficult than expected to identify, since the same inaccuracies can be explained by more than one reason. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper provides a synopsis of some of the key findings of a major research project concerning the impact of road user charging and workplace parking levies on economic activity and the relative limitations of different approaches to investigation of this subject. The processes of economic change that charging may set in motion and the direction and magnitude of impacts are explained. Explanation is also provided with respect to the tractability of different approaches to research in this theme. Within these contexts the main proportion of issues are established and some of the cardinal findings presented. The paper will contribute to the debate about the link between charging and economic vitality, the issues involved and which methodologies are most appropriate for evaluating economic activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Wider economic impacts (WEI) comprise all effects that are not assessed appropriately in conventional cost-benefit analysis (CBA). These effects are generated by market imperfections, in the view of neo-classical equilibrium theory. In real economies such imperfections are not exemptions but frequent phenomena, e.g. stemming from increasing returns to scale or scope, or structural changes of products and industrial processes. Although the existence of WEI is not in question, they are usually not considered in practical assessments of transport infrastructure investments because they can only be estimated with high uncertainty and – in industrialised countries in particular – they are assumed to be of negligible magnitude. This paper presents approaches to WEI measurement based on GDP and on welfare, analyses the feasibility for combining WEI with conventional CBA, and discusses issues related to decision-making in situations where consideration of WEI appears to be relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Americans are driving less. The changes are most pronounced among Millennials, those born in the 1980s and 1990s. Much ink has been spilled debating whether these changes in travel behavior are due to changing preferences or economic circumstances. In this paper, we use eight waves of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to examine recent changes in auto ownership among US families with a particular focus on Millennials. We find that today's young adults do own fewer cars than previous generations did when they were young. However, when we control for whether young adults have become economically independent from their parents, i.e. left the nest, we find that economically independent young adults own slightly more cars than we would expect, given their low incomes and wealth. We caution planners to temper their enthusiasm about “peak car,” as this may largely be a manifestation of economic factors that could reverse in coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parking regulation is seen as a good option to encourage modal shift in order to tackle congestion and pollution in metropolitan areas. Market-clearing curbside pricing is rarely implemented and policy makers have tended to make off-street parking provision their main tool to address excessive curbside demand. Research devoted to garage parking is far less well developed, even though public authorities provide both curbside and garage parking that compete with privately operated facilities. In this paper the impact of garage fare and curbside regulation characteristics (fare and type of dedicated spaces) on garage parking demand are investigated. Aggregate occasional and subscribers parking demand is analyzed by means of two different econometric models estimated using a panel from Barcelona’s public parking authority (BSM) that covers 34 garage facilities with yearly data for the period 2006–2012. We find that both demand segments show a negative elasticity to garage fare. Only occasional parkers show a clear substitution effect with a curbside premium (€0.55/h). Our finding suggests that the actual pricing efficiency gap in Barcelona can range between €0.45 and €1.05 due to the mismatch between curbside and garage pricing regimes; for which we propose some policy alternatives. This stresses the need for a single integrated market approach to parking management, in order to overcome market distortions and achieve efficiency. Additionally, our results show that the characteristics of curbside parking spaces (allowance and time limits) play a role in garage demand determination, yet pricing is much more efficient trigger for behavioral change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the recent period of economic crisis, many countries have introduced scrappage schemes to boost the sale and production of vehicles, particularly of vehicles designed to pollute less. In this paper, the authors analyze the impact of a particular scheme in Spain (Plan2000E) on vehicle prices and sales figures as well as on the reduction of polluting emissions from vehicles on the road. They considered the introduction of this scheme an exogenous policy change and because they could distinguish a control group (both non-subsidized vehicles and the same vehicles in Slovenia) and a treatment group (subsidized vehicles), before and after the introduction of the Plan, the authors were able to carry out their analysis as a quasi-natural experiment. The study reveals that manufacturers increased vehicle prices by 600 € on average. In terms of sales, econometric estimations revealed that the Plan would not cause any increase in sales. With regard to environmental efficiency, comparing the costs (invested quantity of money) and the benefits of the program (reductions in polluting emissions and additional fiscal revenues) and it has been found that the Plan would only be beneficial if it boosted demand by at least 30%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To cope with severe problems of pollution and congestion, a road pricing scheme (the Ecopass) to enter the city centre was introduced in Milan in January 2008. This paper assesses the impact of such a policy measure on the housing market in terms of variations in rent within the treated area. To this end, we adopted a geographical difference-in-discontinuities approach, which allowed us to control for area specific factors and to identify the effect of road pricing at the boundary of the treated area. By using detailed data from 55 zones over the period 2007–2012, we found that the Ecopass has had a small and positive impact on housing rent, equal to +0.75%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental conditions are one of the key components that determine the design life and maintenance required for road pavements. This study investigates how climate change can impact road pavement design life and the required maintenance regimes required to maximise the life of the surface. Using a pavement degradation model previously adapted by the authors for use with the Thornthwaite Moisture Index climate indicator, the authors investigate the impact of climate change on the design life and maintenance requirements along a real life case study corridor in South Australia. A literature review conducted by this study determines how climate change is being considered in infrastructure related policies and literature, with a focus on road pavements. The paper then further discussed the impacts of climate change on road pavement degradation and the implications for management and maintenance of this infrastructure, and the associated impacts for transport policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary goal of this paper is to illustrate the development of economic regulatory policies in China that have been aimed at accelerating the process of expressway infrastructure construction. Although China's expressway infrastructure originates from June 1984, this relatively late initiation still clearly demonstrates the characteristics of rapid expansion, which forms an interesting context for an analysis of regulatory policies. Based on levels of economic development and geography, China can be divided into three macro regions, i.e. eastern, central and western regions. The rapid development of expressway infrastructure, the pattern of investment, the sources of financing and regional differences in investment in the three macro regions are described. Finally, an ex-post evaluation of the principles underpinning the evolution of regulatory policies for expressway infrastructure in China is carried out, based on a qualitative equity and economic efficiency framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last few decades, the motorways sector greatly expanded around the world. Today it represents an essential infrastructure asset of a country. In the majority of cases the network was initially built and maintained with public funds through direct state provision. In the early 1990s many developed and emerging countries moved towards private involvement in toll roads provision, increasing the need for sound economic regulation. However, no comprehensive analysis of the existing regulatory and institutional frameworks has been carried out so far. Starting from a survey involving 21 countries, the paper tries to fill in this gap through a review of existing motorway regulatory frameworks. Various aspects of regulation have been collected and analysed in order to provide an overview of the current practices, both in quantitative and qualitative terms evidencing the strengths and the weaknesses among the various models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial and economic impact of airport hubs on their regions has grown in the last decades. As a result, regional planners have started to integrate the governance of airport regions into their core work. The spatial developments around Schiphol Airport have been governed by a joint initiative of local actors for several decades. In this in-depth case study, we use the multi-level perspective from transition studies to draw lessons on the governance of airport regions. Our findings uncovered the rise (1980s–1990s) and the fall (2000s–2010s) of a strong governance structure: the Governance Forum Schiphol (Bestuursforum Schiphol). At its height it was able to navigate through a complex playing field of overlapping and competing governance structures. Its initial strength, the establishment of a real estate development company which enabled the implementation of its regional planning vision, also turned out to be its weakness. In the first decades of its existence, this connection with real estate development made it a central arena to which other emerging governance arrangements, addressing other issues, could connect. In the long run, it prevented the Governance Forum to adjust to changes at the landscape level and other governance arrangements emerged addressing similar issues. Currently, the platform is to be disassembled. The paper draws lessons for and raises questions on the future development of government structures for airport regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation infrastructure expenditures can lead to greater productivity and increases in economic output due to the reduction in transportation costs, improvements in access to markets and raw materials, reduction in travel times, congestion reductions, and many other benefits. These benefits can potentially allow countries to improve their comparative economic advantages. To better understand the impact of transportation infrastructure expenditures on national economies, the present paper undertakes an aggregate study of the relationship between transportation infrastructure expenditure and gross domestic product from economies in 40 countries. Three econometric frameworks (ordinary least squares, random-effects and random-parameters models) were used to investigate the impacts of transportation infrastructure expenditure across countries using data from 1992 to 2010. The random-parameters model was observed to adequately account for possible unobserved heterogeneity across countries. As expected, the estimation results showed considerable variability across countries, with the impact of transportation infrastructure expenditure varying greatly as a function of the country's existing transportation infrastructure and the reliance of specific economic sectors on transportation in each nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper studies the revised hours of service regulations for truck drivers in the United States which entered into force in July 2013. It provides a detailed model of the new regulation and presents and a new simulation-based method to assess the impact of the rule change on operational costs and road safety. Unlike previous methodologies, the proposed methodology for assessing the impact of hours of service regulations takes into account that, by optimizing routes and schedules, carriers can minimize the economic impact of stricter regulations. Simulation experiments are conducted indicating that the monetized safety benefit of reducing the daily driving time limits is on the same order of magnitude as the increase in operational costs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper we study the impact of port activities on local employment by analyzing a sample of about 560 regions located in ten West European countries and observed over the period 2000–2006. The biggest European ports of OECD countries belong to our sample, which includes 116 ports. The empirical analysis is based on the estimation of a set of employment equations with the GMM-System estimator of Blundell and Bond (1998) that allows us to take into account persistence effects in employment, regional unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity, and endogeneity of port activity. Our main findings can be summarized as follows: first, regional employment is positively correlated to port throughput, while the number of passengers is not; in second place, we found a higher impact of port throughput when the liquid bulk is considered only for 10% of its weight; third, our main results are confirmed if we consider service and manufacturing employment instead of total employment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper empirically investigates the economic effects of government regulation in a regulated taxicab market. We use a cointegration model with structural breaks to test the hypothesis that government regulation increases the price of the regulated good and/or causes the monopoly price. We examine the New York taxicab market and argue that regulation brings about artificial rents by increasing medallion prices, and an increase in medallion prices gives rises to upward pressure on taxi fares. The evidence presented shows that regulation of the New York taxicab market increases medallion prices, and this increase in medallion prices pressures on taxi fares. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper describes the development of an integrated appraisal procedure for new local railway stations. The procedure is not intended to act as a ‘solid state’ set of guidelines, but instead to provide a framework containing current best practice, within which individual elements can be updated and enhanced as new evidence becomes available without affecting the rest of the methodology. The framework includes a number of different elements, which are brought together in an appraisal spreadsheet but which can be altered without affecting other sections of the procedure. First, the best locations for new stations within the study area are chosen, with potential sites selected, catchments defined, infrastructure capacity assessed and potential service patterns planned. Usage at the potential stations is predicted using trip end and flow level demand models, and the extent of abstraction from neighbouring stations is considered. The benefits and costs of constructing the stations are then estimated, including direct financial gains and losses as well as wider economic impacts and social costs and benefits. Finally, these are brought together to calculate financial and social net present values and benefit–cost ratios, with break-even demand levels for new stations also provided. The framework provides a consistent means of estimating the costs and benefits of the large number of schemes for new local railway stations in the UK, and use of a standardised methodology allows those schemes with the best case for construction to be prioritised. Since rail privatisation in the mid-1990s the costs of new stations have escalated dramatically, meaning that stations have to demonstrate much greater revenue-earning potential than was previously the case to justify construction. By providing more accurate forecasts and thus reducing uncertainty over scheme costs and benefits, this appraisal procedure can help to ensure that the best return is obtained on the limited investment funds which are available. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Although a number of studies have already been conducted on the economic impact of the development of the transport and logistics sector and international trade, these are regarded as two separated topics, and little has been done so far to study in depth the relationship between them. This paper seeks to shed light on this issue in the context of Australia. To this end, the vector autocorrelation (VAR) framework is employed to explore the causal relationship between Australia–China trade and the development of the Australian transport and logistics sector. This framework is then extended to allow for the effect of Australia''s trade with the US, Japan, the rest of the world and other variables. Based on the analysis results, implications for the transport and logistics sector are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A review of tourism policy documents reveals three key objectives: environmental, social and economic sustainability. This paper examines the role of scheduled buses in meeting these objectives, using data from a large survey of bus passengers in rural tourist destinations. It finds that buses achieve modest modal shift from cars, allow access to the countryside for people without cars and generate spending in local economies. It suggests how these functions could be improved by market-segmentation, better publicity and service delivery and questions why many such services struggle for funding each year. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: After a long period of political debate and technological difficulties, the German heavy goods vehicle (HGV) toll system was finally put into operation in January 2005. This paper is divided into two main parts. The first section discusses the German HGV toll in detail, with a focus on fee calculation. This is followed by an analysis of the macro-economic impact of the toll. Based on an input–output model for the German economy involving 70 distinct industries, undesirable potential price increases are considered along with potential positive employment effects which can be expected if the toll revenue re-enters the economy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: It is sometimes claimed that transport infrastructure projects have network effects, which are not taken into account in the appraisal of these projects. This paper reviews the concept of network effects, relates this to transport appraisal practice, and links to the concept of ‘total economic impact’. The limitations of transport modelling and appraisal in estimating total economic impact are reviewed. Good quality appraisals should be capable of picking up relevant network effects in the transport market, but the state of the art remains limited on the linkages between transport and the wider economy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]