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Superstitions, street traffic, and subjective well-being

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  • Anderson, Michael L.
  • Lu, Fangwen
  • Zhang, Yiran
  • Yang, Jun
  • Qin, Ping

Abstract

Congestion plays a central role in urban and transportation economics. Existing estimates of congestion costs rely on stated or revealed preferences studies. We explore a complementary measure of congestion costs based on self-reported happiness. Exploiting quasi-random variation in daily congestion in Beijing that arises because of superstitions about the number four, we estimate a strong effect of daily congestion on self-reported happiness. When benchmarking this effect against the relationship between income and self-reported happiness we compute implied congestion costs that are several times larger than conventional estimates. Several factors, including the value of reliability and externalities on non-travelers, can reconcile our alternative estimates with the existing literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Anderson, Michael L. & Lu, Fangwen & Zhang, Yiran & Yang, Jun & Qin, Ping, 2016. "Superstitions, street traffic, and subjective well-being," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 1-10.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:142:y:2016:i:c:p:1-10
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2016.07.005
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    3. Zheng, Jing & Liang, Sai & Ma, Jing & Liu, Guoqiao & Wu, Yirong, 2022. "Can tourism enhance Chinese subjective well-being?," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    4. Ng, Yew-Kwang, 2018. "Ten rules for public economic policy," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 32-42.
    5. Dafeng Xu, 2020. "Free Wheel, Free Will! The Effects of Bikeshare Systems on Urban Commuting Patterns in the U.S," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(3), pages 664-685, June.
    6. Sun, Weizeng & Guo, Dongmei & Li, Qiang & Fang, Haidong, 2021. "School runs and urban traffic congestion: Evidence from China," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    7. Richard G. Lipsey & Yew-Kwang Ng, 2017. "Concluding Comments to the Debate," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 213-228, May.
    8. Brent, Daniel & Beland, Louis-Philippe, 2020. "Traffic congestion, transportation policies, and the performance of first responders," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    9. Louis-Philippe Beland & Daniel A. Brent, 2018. "Traffic and the Provision of Public Goods," Departmental Working Papers 2018-04, Department of Economics, Louisiana State University.
    10. Botha, Ferdi & Kabátek, Jan & Meekes, Jordy & Wilkins, Roger, 2023. "The Effects of Commuting and Working from Home Arrangements on Mental Health," IZA Discussion Papers 16618, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Brodeur, Abel & Cook, Nikolai & Wright, Taylor, 2021. "On the effects of COVID-19 safer-at-home policies on social distancing, car crashes and pollution," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    12. Beland, Louis-Philippe & Brent, Daniel A., 2018. "Traffic and crime," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 96-116.
    13. Stephen R. Barnes & Louis‐Philippe Beland & Jason Huh & Dongwoo Kim, 2022. "COVID‐19 lockdown and traffic accidents: Lessons from the pandemic," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(2), pages 349-368, April.
    14. Christos A. Makridis & Michael Ohlrogge, 2022. "Foreclosure spillovers and individual well‐being: Evidence from the Great Recession," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 50(1), pages 122-146, March.
    15. Ferrara, Antonella Rita & Dijkstra, Lewis & McCann, Philip & Nisticó, Rosanna, 2022. "The response of regional well-being to place-based policy interventions," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    16. Suchi Kapoor Malhotra & Howard White & Nina Ashley O. Dela Cruz & Ashrita Saran & John Eyers & Denny John & Ella Beveridge & Nina Blöndal, 2021. "Studies of the effectiveness of transport sector interventions in low‐ and middle‐income countries: An evidence and gap map," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(4), December.
    17. Liao, Feixiong & Tian, Qiong & Arentze, Theo & Huang, Hai-Jun & Timmermans, Harry J.P., 2020. "Travel preferences of multimodal transport systems in emerging markets: The case of Beijing," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 250-266.
    18. Mattauch, Linus & Hepburn, Cameron, 2016. "Climate policy when preferences are endogenous – and sometimes they are," INET Oxford Working Papers 2016-04, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    19. Jin, Eunae & Kim, Danya & Jin, Jangik, 2022. "Commuting time and perceived stress: Evidence from the intra- and inter-city commuting of young workers in Korea," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Congestion; Happiness; Value of travel time; Value of reliability;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy

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