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MOLES: A New Approach to Modeling the Environmental and Economic Impacts of Urban Policies

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  • Ioannis Tikoudis

    (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD))

  • Walid Oueslati

    (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD))

Abstract

This paper presents the Multi-Objective Local Environmental Simulator (MOLES), an urban Computable General Equilibrium model with selected microsimulation features that links urban land use, mobility patterns and their environmental impacts. The model is tailored to uncover the trade-offs between environmental and economic performance in urban areas. It is also designed to capture the synergetic effects of urban planning and transportation policies. We demonstrate the model’s structure, functions and algorithms through an application to Auckland, New Zealand. The application explores the environmental, fiscal and welfare impacts of a reform that promotes a massive switch to public transportation. We show that, in order to achieve that objective, such a reform should drastically increase the kilometer cost of car use and provide considerable subsidies to public transportation. We find that, in spite of these subsidies, the reform will have a fiscal surplus and will generate substantial welfare gains.

Suggested Citation

  • Ioannis Tikoudis & Walid Oueslati, 2021. "MOLES: A New Approach to Modeling the Environmental and Economic Impacts of Urban Policies," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 58(3), pages 641-690, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:compec:v:58:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s10614-019-09962-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10614-019-09962-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Halkos, George & Tsilika, Kyriaki, 2021. "Computational aspects of sustainability: Conceptual review and analytical framework," MPRA Paper 109632, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Ioannis Tikoudis & Walid Oueslati, 2023. "The future of transport-related emissions in dense urban areas: an analysis of various policy scenarios with MOLES," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 25(2), pages 205-268, April.
    3. George E. Halkos & Kyriaki D. Tsilika, 2021. "Computational Aspects of Sustainability," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 58(3), pages 549-553, October.
    4. Tikoudis, Ioannis & Farrow, Katherine & Mebiame, Rose Mba & Oueslati, Walid, 2022. "Beyond average population density: Measuring sprawl with density-allocation indicators," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).

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