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The penetration of engineering by economics : McFadden (1974) and the transformation of road demand estimation

Author

Listed:
  • Ariane Dupont Kieffer

    (PHARE - Philosophie, Histoire et Analyse des Représentations Économiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

  • Sylvie Rivot

    (BETA - Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - AgroParisTech - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar - UL - Université de Lorraine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • Jean Loup Madre

    (AME-DEST - Dynamiques Economiques et Sociales des Transports - Université Gustave Eiffel)

Abstract

The golden age of road demand modeling began in the 1950s and flourished in the 1960s in the face of major road construction needs. These macro-models as well as the econometrics and the data to be processed, were mainly provided by engineers. A division of tasks can be observed between the engineers in charge of estimating the flows within the network, and the transport economists in charge of managing these flows once they are on the road network. Yet the inability to explain their decision-making processes and individual drives gave some room to economists to introduce economic analysis, so as to better understand individual or collective decisions between transport alternatives. Economists, in particular McFadden, began to offer methods to improve the measure of utility linked to transport, and to inform the engineering approach. This paper explores the challenges to the boundaries between economics and engineering in road demand analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Ariane Dupont Kieffer & Sylvie Rivot & Jean Loup Madre, 2021. "The penetration of engineering by economics : McFadden (1974) and the transformation of road demand estimation," Post-Print hal-03209945, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03209945
    DOI: 10.1017/S1053837220000322
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-03209945v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Daniel L. McFadden, 2013. "The New Science of Pleasure," NBER Working Papers 18687, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Walters, A. A., 1982. "Externalities in urban buses," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 60-72, January.
    3. McDONALD, JOHN F., 2013. "Pigou, Knight, Diminishing Returns, And Optimal Pigouvian Congestion Tolls," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 35(3), pages 353-371, September.
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    5. F. H. Knight, 1924. "Some Fallacies in the Interpretation of Social Cost," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 38(4), pages 582-606.
    6. McFadden, Daniel, 1974. "The measurement of urban travel demand," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 303-328, November.
    7. Diamond, Peter A., 1971. "A model of price adjustment," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 156-168, June.
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