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Road safety: challenges and opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean

Author

Listed:
  • Sebastian Martinez

    (Inter-American Development Bank)

  • Raul Sanchez

    (IDB Invest)

  • Patricia Yañez-Pagans

    (IDB Invest)

Abstract

An estimated 1.3 million people die in traffic accidents each year worldwide and millions more are injured, with developing countries disproportionately affected. It is predicted that the number of global traffic deaths will be around 1.8 million annually by 2030, making it the eight cause of death in the world. This paper provides an overview of salient road safety issues in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region. It also reviews existing theoretical and causal empirical evidence of interventions to improve road safety outcomes, concentrating on three core areas: safer roads and mobility, safer vehicles, and safer road users. Despite the existence of potentially cost-effective and life-saving interventions, there is surprisingly little rigorous evidence on the effectiveness of road safety programs in the LAC context. This paper discusses promising areas for policy experimentation and future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Sebastian Martinez & Raul Sanchez & Patricia Yañez-Pagans, 2019. "Road safety: challenges and opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean," Latin American Economic Review, Springer;Centro de Investigaciòn y Docencia Económica (CIDE), vol. 28(1), pages 1-30, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:laecrv:v:28:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1186_s40503-019-0078-0
    DOI: 10.1186/s40503-019-0078-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Alves, Pedro Jorge & Emanuel, Lucas & Pereira, Rafael H.M., 2021. "Highway concessions and road safety:Evidence from Brazil," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    2. Alves, Pedro Jorge & Emanuel, Lucas & Pereira, Rafael Henrique Moreas, 2020. "The causal effect of road concessions on road safety," SocArXiv rqew3, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Road safety; Road traffic accidents; Road fatalities; Latin America and the Caribbean;
    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
    • R42 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government and Private Investment Analysis; Road Maintenance; Transportation Planning
    • L92 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Railroads and Other Surface Transportation
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • K32 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law

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