IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/enreec/v88y2025i6d10.1007_s10640-025-00985-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Behavioral Responses to Environmental Emergency Alerts and Temporary Driving Restrictions: Evidence from Cyclists in Mexico City

Author

Listed:
  • José Eduardo Castro Pérez

    (Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León)

  • Daniel Flores

    (Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León)

Abstract

We evaluate the impact of environmental emergency alerts and temporary driving restrictions on cycling activity in Mexico City for the period 2019–2023. Although environmental alerts and driving restrictions are closely linked, they do not necessarily occur simultaneously. We are careful to disentangle their differentiated effect using an administrative dataset that allows us to distinguish cyclists’ trip purposes as commuting and leisure. We find that environmental alerts are effective, yet limited, persuading cyclists to reduce their cycling activity by about 6–29% during highly polluted days. Moreover, we confirm that temporary driving restrictions are effective, increasing commuting cycling activity in a range of 4–15%. However, the effectiveness of driving restrictions is achieved at the expense of lower-income commuters. While higher-income commuters continue to drive thanks to their greater availability of cars, lower-income commuters are pushed to opt for cleaner means of transportation—such as bicycles—at a higher cost for their health.

Suggested Citation

  • José Eduardo Castro Pérez & Daniel Flores, 2025. "Behavioral Responses to Environmental Emergency Alerts and Temporary Driving Restrictions: Evidence from Cyclists in Mexico City," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 88(6), pages 1719-1771, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:88:y:2025:i:6:d:10.1007_s10640-025-00985-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-025-00985-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10640-025-00985-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10640-025-00985-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lucas W. Davis, 2008. "The Effect of Driving Restrictions on Air Quality in Mexico City," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(1), pages 38-81, February.
    2. Eva Arceo & Rema Hanna & Paulina Oliva, 2016. "Does the Effect of Pollution on Infant Mortality Differ Between Developing and Developed Countries? Evidence from Mexico City," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(591), pages 257-280, March.
    3. Koichiro Ito & Shuang Zhang, 2020. "Willingness to Pay for Clean Air: Evidence from Air Purifier Markets in China," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(5), pages 1627-1672.
    4. Cutter, W. Bowman & Neidell, Matthew, 2009. "Voluntary information programs and environmental regulation: Evidence from 'Spare the Air'," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 58(3), pages 253-265, November.
    5. MacKinnon, James G. & Nielsen, Morten Ørregaard & Webb, Matthew D., 2023. "Cluster-robust inference: A guide to empirical practice," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 232(2), pages 272-299.
    6. Paulina Oliva, 2015. "Environmental Regulations and Corruption: Automobile Emissions in Mexico City," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 123(3), pages 686-724.
    7. A. Godzinski & M. Suarez Castillo, 2021. "Disentangling the effects of air pollutants with many instruments," Documents de Travail de l'Insee - INSEE Working Papers g2021-04, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques.
    8. Catherine Hausman & David S. Rapson, 2018. "Regression Discontinuity in Time: Considerations for Empirical Applications," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 10(1), pages 533-552, October.
    9. Green, Colin P. & Heywood, John S. & Navarro, María, 2016. "Traffic accidents and the London congestion charge," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 11-22.
    10. Tribby, Calvin P. & Miller, Harvey J. & Song, Ying & Smith, Ken R., 2013. "Do air quality alerts reduce traffic? An analysis of traffic data from the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, Utah, USA," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 173-185.
    11. Sandro Provenzano & Sefi Roth & Lutz Sager, 2024. "Air Pollution and Respiratory Infectious Diseases," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(5), pages 1127-1139, May.
    12. Erick Guerra & Andrew Sandweiss & Seunglee David Park, 2022. "Does rationing really backfire? A critical review of the literature on license-plate-based driving restrictions," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(5), pages 604-625, September.
    13. Rivera, Nathaly M., 2021. "Air quality warnings and temporary driving bans: Evidence from air pollution, car trips, and mass-transit ridership in Santiago," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    14. Gellman, Jacob & Walls, Margaret & Wibbenmeyer, Matthew, 2022. "Wildfire, smoke, and outdoor recreation in the western United States," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    15. Huang, Jialin & Xing, Jianwei & Yongchen Zou, Eric, 2023. "(Re)scheduling pollution exposure: The case of surgery schedules," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    16. Gallego, Francisco & Montero, Juan-Pablo & Salas, Christian, 2013. "The effect of transport policies on car use: Evidence from Latin American cities," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 47-62.
    17. David Roodman & James G. MacKinnon & Morten Ørregaard Nielsen & Matthew D. Webb, 2019. "Fast and wild: Bootstrap inference in Stata using boottest," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 19(1), pages 4-60, March.
    18. Xinming Du, 2023. "Symptom or Culprit? Social Media, Air Pollution, and Violence," CESifo Working Paper Series 10296, CESifo.
    19. Saberian, Soodeh & Heyes, Anthony & Rivers, Nicholas, 2017. "Alerts work! Air quality warnings and cycling," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 165-185.
    20. Zhang, Junjie & Mu, Quan, 2018. "Air pollution and defensive expenditures: Evidence from particulate-filtering facemasks," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 517-536.
    21. Godzinski, Alexandre & Suarez Castillo, Milena, 2021. "Disentangling the effects of air pollutants with many instruments," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    22. Graff Zivin, Joshua & Neidell, Matthew, 2009. "Days of haze: Environmental information disclosure and intertemporal avoidance behavior," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 119-128, September.
    23. Sager, Lutz, 2019. "Estimating the effect of air pollution on road safety using atmospheric temperature inversions," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    24. Keiser, David A. & Lade, Gabriel E. & Rudik, Ivan, 2018. "Air pollution and visitation at U.S. national parks," ISU General Staff Papers 201807180700001621, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    25. Davis, Lucas W., 2021. "Estimating the price elasticity of demand for subways: Evidence from Mexico," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    26. Wang, Zhenxuan & Zhang, Junjie, 2023. "The value of information disclosure: Evidence from mask consumption in China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shihe Fu & V. Brian Viard, 2022. "A mayors perspective on tackling air pollution," Chapters, in: Charles K.Y. Leung (ed.), Handbook of Real Estate and Macroeconomics, chapter 16, pages 413-437, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Deng, Yongheng & He, Jia & Li, Bingqing & Shen, Xixi, 2024. "Does air pollution cause more car accidents? Evidence from auto insurance claims," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Lee, Wang-Sheng & Tran, Trang My & Yu, Lamont Bo, 2023. "Green infrastructure and air pollution: Evidence from highways connecting two megacities in China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    4. Gillingham, Kenneth & Huang, Pei, 2021. "Racial disparities in the health effects from air pollution: Evidence from ports," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-058, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    5. Wen Hsu & Bing-Fang Hwang & Chau-Ren Jung & Yau-Huo Jimmy Shr, 2021. "Can Air Pollution Save Lives? Air Quality and Risky Behaviors on Roads," Papers 2111.06837, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2021.
    6. Shr, Yau-Huo & Hsu, Wen & Hwang, Bing-Fang & Jung, Chau-Ren, 2023. "Air quality and risky behaviors on roads," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    7. Yao, Yao & Li, Xue & Smyth, Russell & Zhang, Lin, 2022. "Air pollution and political trust in local government: Evidence from China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    8. Arthur J. Caplan, 2023. "Missing the Warning Signs? The Case of “Yellow Air Day” Advisories in Northern Utah," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 85(2), pages 479-522, June.
    9. Chen, Lu & Wang, Yingcheng, 2024. "The impact of pollution information disclosure on household electricity consumption: Evidence from China," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    10. Mullan, Katrina & Avery, Teigan & Boise, Patrick & Leary, Cindy S. & Rice, William L. & Semmens, Erin O., 2024. "Impacts of wildfire-season air quality on park and playground visitation in the Northwest United States," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    11. Piero Basaglia & Luis Sarmiento, 2025. "When the Boundary Layer Drops: Air Quality and Healthcare Use in Mexico," CESifo Working Paper Series 11901, CESifo.
    12. Julia Mink, 2025. "The Healthcare Costs of Air Pollution in France," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2025_650, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    13. Austin, Wes & Carattini, Stefano & Gomez-Mahecha, John & Pesko, Michael F., 2023. "The effects of contemporaneous air pollution on COVID-19 morbidity and mortality," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    14. Evangelina Dardati & Ramiro de Elejalde & Eugenio Giolito, 2024. "On the short‐term impact of pollution: The effect of PM 2.5 on emergency room visits," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(3), pages 482-508, March.
    15. Mariano J. Rabassa & Mariana Conte Grand & Christian M. García-Witulski, 2021. "Heat warnings and avoidance behavior: evidence from a bike-sharing system," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 23(1), pages 1-28, January.
    16. Wes Austin & Stefano Carattini & John Gomez Mahecha & Michael Pesko, 2020. "Covid-19 Mortality and Contemporaneous Air Pollution," CESifo Working Paper Series 8609, CESifo.
    17. Davis, Lucas W., 2021. "Estimating the price elasticity of demand for subways: Evidence from Mexico," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    18. Wang, Kunlun & Yao, Hongjiang, 2024. "How environmental information is capitalized into the housing market? Evidence from China's National Ambient Air Quality Standards," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    19. Panle Jia Barwick & Shanjun Li & Liguo Lin & Eric Yongchen Zou, 2024. "From Fog to Smog: The Value of Pollution Information," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 114(5), pages 1338-1381, May.
    20. Xin Zhang & Xun Zhang & Yuehua Liu & Xintong Zhao & Xi Chen, 2023. "The morbidity costs of air pollution through the Lens of Health Spending in China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1269-1292, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Avoidance behavior; Driving restriction; Cycling; Air pollution; Hoy no circula;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:88:y:2025:i:6:d:10.1007_s10640-025-00985-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.