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Control of vehicle ownership and market competition: theory and Singapore's experience with the vehicle quota system

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  • Koh, Winston T. H.

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of vehicle quota system on the market structure of Singapore's car distributorship industry. Using recently available data, we analyzed the populations and new registrations of different brands of passenger car and motorcycle. We found an increase in market concentration in the car distributorship industry, as the market shares of the top distributors have increased steadily, even though the annual growth rate of vehicle population is capped at 3% per annum. We also found that average dealership markups for passenger cars for the period August-September 2002 are similar to those reported in earlier studies. We relate these empirical findings to a theoretical model of a differentiated-good oligopoly operating under an industry sales constraint.

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  • Koh, Winston T. H., 2003. "Control of vehicle ownership and market competition: theory and Singapore's experience with the vehicle quota system," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 749-770, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:37:y:2003:i:9:p:749-770
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    Cited by:

    1. Santos, Georgina & Li, Wai Wing & Koh, Winston T.H, 2004. "9. Transport Policies In Singapore," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 209-235, January.
    2. Francisco Gallego & Juan-Pablo Montero & Christian Salas, 2011. "The Effect of Transport Policies on Car Use: Theory and Evidence from Latin American Cities," Documentos de Trabajo 407, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
    3. Hao, Han & Wang, Hewu & Ouyang, Minggao, 2011. "Comparison of policies on vehicle ownership and use between Beijing and Shanghai and their impacts on fuel consumption by passenger vehicles," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 1016-1021, February.
    4. Tan, Lijia & Wei, Lijia, 2020. "Evaluating car license auction mechanisms: Theory and experimental evidence," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    5. Li, Zhi-Chun & Wu, Qiao-Yu & Yang, Hai, 2019. "A theory of auto ownership rationing," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 125-146.
    6. Weiqiang Lin, 2012. "Wasting Time? The Differentiation of Travel Time in Urban Transport," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(10), pages 2477-2492, October.
    7. Zhang, Junyi & Kuwano, Masashi & Lee, Backjin & Fujiwara, Akimasa, 2009. "Modeling household discrete choice behavior incorporating heterogeneous group decision-making mechanisms," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 230-250, February.
    8. Chu, Sing-Fat & Koh, Winston T. H. & Tse, Yiu Kuen, 2004. "Expectations formation and forecasting of vehicle demand: an empirical study of the vehicle quota auctions in Singapore," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 367-381, June.
    9. Song, Siqi & Diao, Mi & Feng, Chen-Chieh, 2021. "Effects of pricing and infrastructure on car ownership: A pseudo-panel-based dynamic model," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 115-126.
    10. Faridzah Jamaluddin & Nizaroyani Saibani & Siti Maisarah Mohd Pisal & Dzuraidah Abd Wahab & Hawa Hishamuddin & Zainuddin Sajuri & Rasyikah Md Khalid, 2022. "End-of-Life Vehicle Management Systems in Major Automotive Production Bases in Southeast Asia: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-23, November.
    11. Junji Xiao & Xiaolan Zhou & Wei‐Min Hu, 2017. "Welfare Analysis Of The Vehicle Quota System In China," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 58(2), pages 617-650, May.
    12. Yang, Xiaofang & Jin, Wen & Jiang, Hai & Xie, Qianyan & Shen, Wei & Han, Weijian, 2017. "Car ownership policies in China: Preferences of residents and influence on the choice of electric cars," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 62-71.
    13. Zhu, Shanjiang & Du, Longyuan & Zhang, Lei, 2013. "Rationing and pricing strategies for congestion mitigation: Behavioral theory, econometric model, and application in Beijing," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 210-224.
    14. Chu, Singfat, 2012. "Allocation flexibility and price efficiency within Singapore’s Vehicle Quota System," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1541-1550.
    15. Lijia Tan & Lijia Wei, 2014. "Car License Auction: Theory and Experimental Evidence," Working Papers 1401, Xiamen Unversity, The Wang Yanan Institute for Studies in Economics, Finance and Economics Experimental Laboratory, revised 02 Sep 2014.
    16. Suwei Feng & Qiang Li, 2018. "Evaluating the car ownership control policy in Shanghai: a structural vector auto-regression approach," Transportation, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 205-232, January.
    17. Winston T.H. Koh, 2004. "Congestion Control and Vehicle Ownership Restriction: The Choice of an Optimal Quota Policy," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 38(3), pages 371-402, September.
    18. Winston Koh & Roberto Mariano & Yiu Kuen Tse, 2007. "Open vs. sealed-bid auctions: testing for revenue equivalence under Singapore's vehicle quota system," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 125-134.
    19. Zheng, Yunhan & Moody, Joanna & Wang, Shenhao & Zhao, Jinhua, 2021. "Measuring policy leakage of Beijing’s car ownership restriction," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 223-236.
    20. Singfat Chu, 2018. "Singapore’s Vehicle Quota System and its impact on motorcycles," Transportation, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 1419-1432, September.
    21. Singfat Chu, 2011. "Sealed v/s open bids for certificates of entitlement under the vehicle quota system in Singapore," Transportation, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 215-226, March.

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