Comparison of social and perceived marginal costs of road transport in Italy

Author(s):  
Paolo Beria ◽  
Raffaele Grimaldi ◽  
Marco Ponti

The topic of external costs of transport is widely studied in the scientific literature and policy makers are showing a growing awareness on this problem. One of the main tools used to control the social costs of transport and reduce welfare losses associated to externalities is that of internalisation via tariffs: road pricing, carbon taxes, dedicated taxes etc. Actually, many taxes on transport already exist, but seldom have an explicit internalisation purpose. In this paper we compare current road transport perceived marginal costs in Italy with social ones. Starting from the literature on the topic, in the analytical part of the paper we present the case of Italy and quantify the current level of external costs and taxation. Then we compare unit taxes with marginal transport social costs, with particular respect to different driving contexts. Results show that gasoline passengers cars always perceive the external costs they generate more than any other vehicle category. In urban contexts external costs are still not rightly perceived, with the exception of recent gasoline cars only and excluding congestion. Outside urban contexts, the perceived share is considerably higher. Estimates also suggest that a distortion exists with respect to the gap between highway tolls and infrastructure damage costs in Italy: trucks pay only a little more than marginal infrastructure costs they generate, so that only cars are actually paying for new investments.

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zainul Arifin ◽  
Imma Widyawati Agustin ◽  
Sonya Sulistyono

Accidents of involving motorcycles in Surabaya tend to increase. Recorded from 2014 to 2016 were reached 721, 929 and 1,325 accidents. This phenomenon is certainly not beneficial for the community and road transport policy makers. This study was conducted to determine the characteristics of motorcycle riders and accidents of involving motorcycles. This research further develops estimation of accident prediction involving motorcycle in Surabaya City. Accident data compiled from AIS-IRSMS to know the characteristics of users and accidents using the accidents approach. The research location was conducted in accident prone areas during January 2014 to February 2017 also using AIS-IRSMS. With the Generalized Linear Models (GLMs), the result of estimation of accident estimation involving motorcycle that is McA = 0.00225 Q1.030 e(0.034 S). Accidents of involving motorcycles are heavily influenced by the number of vehicles on the road and the speed of the vehicle. Kecelakaan melibatkan sepeda motor di Kota Surabaya cenderung mengalami peningkatan. Tercatat tahun 2014 hingga 2016 mencapai 721, 929 dan 1.325 kejadian kecelakaan. Fenomena ini tentunya tidak menguntungkan bagi masyarakat dan pengambil kebijakan terkait transportasi jalan raya. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui karakteristik pengendara sepeda motor terlibat kecelakaan dan kecelakaan melibatkan sepeda motor. Lebih lanjut penelitian ini melakukan pengembangan estimasi prediksi kecelakaan melibatkan sepeda motor di Kota Surabaya. Data kecelakaan dikompulir dari AIS-IRSMS untuk mengetahui karakteristik penguna dan kecelakaan menggunakan pendekatan frekwensi kejadian. Lokasi penelitian dilakukan pada daerah rawan kecelakaan sepanjang Januari 2014 hingga Februari 2017 juga menggunakan bantuan AIS-IRSMS. Menggunakan metode Generalized Linear Models (GLMs), hasil penelitian diperoleh estimasi prediksi kecelakaan melibatkan sepeda motor yaitu McA= 0,00225 Q1,030 e(0,034 S). Kecelakaan melibatkan sepeda motor sangat dipengaruhi oleh banyaknya kendaraan di jalan dan kecepatan kendaraan.


2017 ◽  
pp. 946-970
Author(s):  
Huynh Viet Khai

Measuring the biodiversity value in monetary could be useful information for policy-makers to estimate welfare losses caused by biodiversity reductions and perform cost-benefit analysis of biodiversity conservation projects. This study applied the approach of contingent valuation to analyze the Mekong Delta urban households' preferences and their willingness to pay for the program of biodiversity conservation in U Minh Thuong National Park, one of the largest peat swamp forests in Vietnam. The study estimated that the mean WTP of urban residents in the Mekong Delta was about VND16,510 ($0.78) per household per month for all respondents and around VND31,520 ($1.49) after excluding the protest zero and scenario rejecting respondents. Aggregately, they agreed to contribute about $10.97 million annually for the project of biodiversity conservation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 03069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diletta Di Lorenzo ◽  
Valeria Lupo ◽  
Giorgia Peri ◽  
Gianfranco Rizzo ◽  
Gianluca Scaccianoce

Energy policy makers, architects and researchers, when designing new buildings or rehabilitating the existing ones, are engaged in the attempt of limiting the energy needs for climatization (NZEB buildings) and the environmental pressure exerted by buildings (EU Climate Action). The pursuit of this demanding assignment calls for innovative solutions in conceiving the building envelope and its energy systems. Recently, among the most effective tools for improving the energy and environmental performances of buildings, the technical interventions regarding the roofs are gaining a rising attention. Indeed, covers of buildings are responsible of a relevant part of their energy losses and, on the other hand, could contribute to increasing the UHI effect. In the paper, a simple methodology that compares the energy and environmental benefits of cool and green coverages with traditional ones is presented. The capability of limiting the UHI effect of these solutions is also analysed. The methodology is applied to four cities of the Sicilian Island, characterized by different building density and different microclimates. This in-field application shows the feasibility of the method to be used in different urban contexts, as a useful contribution to the design of new buildings or to the re-design of the existing ones.


Pomorstvo ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luka Vukić ◽  
Tanja Poletan Jugović

Branch Xa of Pan-European Transport Corridor X has a strategic importance for Croatia since this corridor (Corridor branch) enables linking of Croatia with Slovenia and Austria, which, according to the current data on the structure of trade in goods from countries, is counted among five most important Croatian trading partners. Therefore, the valorization of the branch of Corridor X has unquestionable importance for the Croatian economy and the associated surroundings that gravitate in the transport route. Conditional on the numerous geo-transport and socioeconomic factors, the valorization of transport corridor on the transport market is determined also by the value of transport (traffic) services that are determined by the costs incurred in its production. Accordingly, the underlying problem of the present study is to analyze the external costs of the branch of Corridor X which, although, belong to the category of social costs borne by society, have the intention to become, over various regulatory measures (excise), an integral part of the costs of the conveyor. With the aim of the research in this study, which, generally, supports the need for internalization of the external costs, as the essential factors of valorization of the transport corridors, a comparative analysis of external costs of the branch of Corridor X between the road and rail transport was performed. As input data, the results of in-depth analysis were used, resulting from the studies of the European Commission for the European Union, specifically Studies for Corridor X and Studies on East-Mediterranean transport routes. The research results show that the mean values of external costs of freight rail transport on the branch Xa are almost five times fewer than the average value of external costs of road transport and that, in accordance with the purpose of these investigations, the internalization of external costs is unquestionably required for planning the traffic flows and valorization of the route.


Author(s):  
Erick Lachapelle

In debates surrounding policy options for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, economists of various political stripes are near unanimous in their advocacy of putting a price on carbon, whether through a tax or emissions trading program. Due to the visible costs imposed on industry and consumers, however, these policies have been resisted by carbon-intensive industries and by an ideologically divided public, producing incentives for vote-seeking politicians to avoid implementing comprehensive and stringent carbon prices within their own borders. In this highly politicized environment, and considering the more recent diffusion of market-based instruments across political jurisdictions around the world, researchers have sought to identify the conditions most favorable to implementing carbon taxes and cap-and-trade programs, the correlates of public support for these policies, and the extent to which different communication strategies may help build public support. How do experts, political leaders, and members of the public understand these policy instruments, and what specific approaches have been most successful in persuading policy makers and the public to support a price on carbon? In places that have yet to implement a carbon price, what can communication strategists learn from existing research and the experience of other jurisdictions where such policies have been successfully implemented? In places where carbon taxes or carbon cap-and-trade programs exist, how are the benefits of these policies best communicated to ensure the durability of carbon pricing policies over time?


2020 ◽  
Vol 690 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-135
Author(s):  
Ernesto Castañeda

This article compares immigrant and ethnic organizations in four major immigrant-receiving cities and reveals substantial variation across these immigrant gateway cities. Using data from ethnographic fieldwork and an original database of relevant organizations in New York City; El Paso, Texas; Paris; and Barcelona, I find differences in organizational type and density, as well as in their legitimacy and funding. This article contributes to a growing literature on immigrant organizations. Although immigrant organizations have a long history in some cities, they may not always operate in ways that enhance refugee and migrant integration. Comparing immigrant organizations is fruitful because it tells us more about city and national political systems and why distinct localities deal with cultural minorities differently. These comparisons can help the readers to understand the barriers and ladders that immigrants encounter in different cities and inform policy-makers in designing better approaches to incorporate immigrants.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Oebel ◽  
Dr. Tobias Gaugler

<p><strong>Keywords:</strong> External costs, mobility, environmental costs, social costs, monetarization</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This study provides a methodology to evaluate the environmental and social costs, which arise from traffic in the German city of Augsburg. Social costs are driven by air pollutants such as nitric oxides or particulate matter, causing health damages. Environmental follow-up costs are driven by the emission of greenhouse gases. Furthermore, approaches for a successful transformation towards a car-free city are shown.</p> <p><strong>Method: </strong>Based on traffic data from the Augsburg Civil Engineering Office, as well as traffic shares from the German Federal Motor Transport Authority, the average emission factors of vehicles on Augsburg´s streets and, subsequently, the total traffic emissions on municipal roads in the city are quantified. The environmental as well as the social consequences are monetarized using the cost rates by Matthey and Bünger (2019) and van Essen et al. (2019). Social costs are additionally assessed using to the DALY approach. Therefore the DALYs lost due to air pollutants are determined and costs per DALY are calculated using the willingness to pay-approach by Cropper and Khanna (2014) and Spengler (2004) additionally to a method by Daroudi et al. (2019) assessing health care expenditures.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Applying this framework to the case study of Augsburg, results show, that environmental costs of 140.6 Million € arise from traffic in the city per year. These costs are entirely attributable to car traffic (77.7%), truck traffic (19.8%) and motorcycle traffic (1.9%), as public transport in Augsburg is climate neutral. Further, traffic on municipal roads in Augsburg causes a loss of 212.3 DALYs per year, which equals to annual social costs of 27.2 Million €. Cars account for 63.2% of those, trucks for 33.8%, motorcycles for 2.3% and buses for 0.2%, respectively. With a proportion of passenger kilometers of 90.4% from cars, 6.1% from motorcycles and 3.6% from buses, it is evident that cars contribute disproportionately to the environmental and social costs of Augsburg's traffic.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The social and economic follow-up costs of transport in the city of Augsburg are currently not borne by the polluter. Their great amount encourages measures, such as reinforcing the use of bicycles or public transport, eventually facilitating a change towards sustainable traffic in Augsburg.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>References</strong></p> <p>Cropper, Maureen; Khanna, Shefali (2014): How Should the World Bank Estimate Air Pollution Damages? In Resources for the Future Discussion Paper, pp. 14–30.</p> <p>Daroudi, Rajabali; Faramarzi, Ahmad; Akbari Sari, Ali; Nahvijou, Azin (2019): Cost Per Daly Averted in Low, Middle and High Income Countries: Evidence from Global Burden of Disease Study to Estimate the Cost Effectiveness Thresholds. In SSRN Journal.</p> <p>Matthey, Astrid; Bünger, Björn (2019): Methodenkonvention 3.0 zur Ermittlung von Umweltkosten – Kostensätze. Edited by Umweltbundesamt. Available online at https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/1410/publikationen/2019-02-11_methodenkonvention-3-0_kostensaetze_korr.pdf, checked on 10/29/2020.</p> <p>Spengler, Hannes (2004): Kompensatorische Lohndifferenziale und der Wert eines statistischen Lebens in Deutschland. In Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung-Journal for Labour Market Research 37 (3), pp. 269–305.</p> <p>van Essen, Huib; van Wijngaarden, Lisanne, Schroten, Arno; Sutter, Daniel; Bieler, Cuno; Maffii, Silvia; Brambilla, Marco et al. (2019): Handbook on the external costs of transport. Edited by CE Delft. Available online at https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/studies/internalisation-handbook-isbn-978-92-79-96917-1.pdf, checked on 10/29/2020.</p>


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Scott Farrow ◽  
Douglas M. Larson

Although contingent valuation methods are now frequently used to assess the total value of even distant events, benefit-cost analysis could also be informed by observed behavior that links distant events and consumers. It is typically the news media which connect passive consumers to distant events about which they may or may not take action. The information and adaptation costs incurred by the news consumer are privately beneficial, but additionally are shown to be a lower bound to social welfare losses from a socially defined “bad” event under plausible circumstances. The recent Deepwater Horizon well blow-out in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico is a current example which we seek to inform by study of the oil spill from the Valdez, Alaska spill in 1989. We identify an incremental willingness to pay for news about the Exxon Valdez spill above a standard news broadcast and an increased probability of viewing a broadcast related to the spill. We develop and explain how this private value associated with media consumption can be interpreted as a partial measure of social costs for passive viewers who take no further action beyond news viewing and likely represent the majority of affected citizens (though not necessarily the majority of social costs). Though the per-person values of passive users may be modest in magnitude in the present application, some passive use values appear to be measurable, and that it may well be worth pursuing further the search for the faint but observable links between behavior and distant events through the news media.


2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Lane

Policy makers are hoping that the public will assist in the move toward a sustainable transport system by purchasing alternatively fueled vehicles (AFVs), many of which are now available in the UK. But if the public's knowledge-base of transport issues is low, it seems unlikely that consumer behavior will change sufficiently enough to solve the problems associated with high levels of traffic pollution. To assess the extent of popular understanding, an open-ended questionnaire has been used to investigate the perceptions of the British public on issues relating to transport. Topics include the environmental impact of vehicle emissions and the level of awareness of other alternative transport technologies such as natural gas, fuel-cell, and hybrid vehicles. The focus is to identify the most common misconceptions, with a view to improving educational programs designed to encourage the uptake of AFVs.


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