IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ira/wpaper/200802.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Motorways, tolls and road safety.Evidence from European Panel Data

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel Albalate

    (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona)

  • Germa Bel

    (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona)

Abstract

The use of tolls is being widespread around the world. Its ability to fund infrastructure projects and to solve budget constraints have been the main rationale behind its renewed interest. However, less attention has been payed to the safety effects derived from this policy in a moment of increasing concern on road fatalities. Pricing best infrastructures shifts some drivers onto worse alternative roads usually not prepared to receive high traffic in comparable safety standards. In this paper we provide evidence of the existence of this perverse consequence by using an international European panel in a two way fixed effects estimation.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Albalate & Germa Bel, 2008. "Motorways, tolls and road safety.Evidence from European Panel Data," IREA Working Papers 200802, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Feb 2008.
    • Handle: RePEc:ira:wpaper:200802
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.ub.edu/irea/working_papers/2008/200802.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Newbery, David M, 1987. "Road User Charges in Britain," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 98(390), pages 161-176, Supplemen.
    2. AndrÊ de Palma & Robin Lindsey, 2000. "Private toll roads: Competition under various ownership regimes," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 34(1), pages 13-35.
    3. Ruhm, Christopher J., 1996. "Alcohol policies and highway vehicle fatalities," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 435-454, August.
    4. Georgina Santos, 2004. "Urban Congestion Charging: A Second-Best Alternative," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 38(3), pages 345-369, September.
    5. Hausman, Jerry, 2015. "Specification tests in econometrics," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 38(2), pages 112-134.
    6. Daniel Albalate, 2011. "Shifting Death to Their Alternatives The Case of Toll Motorways," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 45(3), pages 457-479, September.
    7. Daniel Albalate, 2008. "Lowering blood alcohol content levels to save lives: The European experience," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 20-39.
    8. Viton Philip A., 1995. "Private Roads," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 260-289, May.
    9. Kopits, Elizabeth & Cropper, Maureen, 2003. "Traffic fatalities and economic growth," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3035, The World Bank.
    10. Nejat Anbarci & Monica Escaleras & Charles Register, 2006. "Traffic Fatalities and Public Sector Corruption," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 327-344, August.
    11. Verhoef, Erik & Nijkamp, Peter & Rietveld, Piet, 1996. "Second-Best Congestion Pricing: The Case of an Untolled Alternative," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 279-302, November.
    12. May, A. D. & Milne, D. S., 2000. "Effects of alternative road pricing systems on network performance," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 407-436, August.
    13. Chris Nash, 2007. "Road Pricing in Britain," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 41(1), pages 135-147, January.
    14. Vickrey, William S, 1969. "Congestion Theory and Transport Investment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 59(2), pages 251-260, May.
    15. Engel Eduardo M & Fischer Ronald & Galetovic Alexander, 2004. "Toll Competition Among Congested Roads," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 1-21, March.
    16. Antonio García‐ferrer & Aránzazu De Juan & Pilar Poncela, 2007. "The relationship between road traffic accidents and real economic activity in spain: common cycles and health issues," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(6), pages 603-626, June.
    17. Parry, I. W. H., 2002. "Comparing the efficiency of alternative policies for reducing traffic congestion," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(3), pages 333-362, September.
    18. Antonio Estache & Gines De Rus, 2000. "Privatization and Regulation of Transport Infrastructure : Guidelines for Policymakers and Regulators," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 15199.
    19. 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.
    20. Olszewski, Piotr & Xie, Litian, 2005. "Modelling the effects of road pricing on traffic in Singapore," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 39(7-9), pages 755-772.
    21. Daniel Eisenberg, 2003. "Evaluating the effectiveness of policies related to drunk driving," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 249-274.
    22. Daniel Albalate & Germa Bel & Xavier Fageda, 2007. "Privatization and regulation of toll motorways in europe," IREA Working Papers 200704, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Mar 2007.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Belles-Sampera, Jaume & Merigó, José M. & Guillén, Montserrat & Santolino, Miguel, 2013. "The connection between distortion risk measures and ordered weighted averaging operators," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 411-420.
    2. Jordi Perdiguero & Juan Luis Jiménez, 2012. "“Policy options for the promotion of electric vehicles: a review”," IREA Working Papers 201208, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Mar 2012.
    3. Michael Artis & Ernest Miguélez & Rosina Moreno, 2009. "Assessing Agglomeration Economies in a Spatial Framework with Endogenous Regressors," SERC Discussion Papers 0023, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    4. Juan Luis Jiménez & Jordi Perdiguero, 2018. "Mergers and difference-in-difference estimator: Why firms do not increase prices?," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 285-311, April.
    5. Ernest Miguélez & Rorina Moreno, 2012. "“What attracts knowledge workers? The role of space, social connections, institutions, jobs and amenities”," IREA Working Papers 201204, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Feb 2012.
    6. Erika Badillo & Rosina Moreno, 2012. "“What Drives the Choice of Partners in R&D Cooperation? Heterogeneity across Sectors”," AQR Working Papers 201206, University of Barcelona, Regional Quantitative Analysis Group, revised Jul 2012.
    7. Jordi López-Tamayo & Vicente Royuela & Jordi Suriñach, 2012. "“Building a “quality in work” index in Spain”," AQR Working Papers 201204, University of Barcelona, Regional Quantitative Analysis Group, revised Feb 2012.
    8. Alessandro Maravalle & Peter Claeys, 2010. "Fiscal policy and economic stability: does PIGS stand for Procyclicality In Government Spending?," IREA Working Papers 201015, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised 2010.
    9. Javier Campos & Juan Luis Jiménez & Ancor Suárez-Alemán, 2012. "“Not always sunny in paradise: prices and brand diversity in touristic areas supermarkets”," IREA Working Papers 201211, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised May 2012.
    10. Juan Luis Jiménez & Jordi Perdiguero & Ancor Suárez, 2011. "Debating as a classroom tool for adapting learning outcomes to the European higher education area," IREA Working Papers 201109, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Jun 2011.
    11. Ana María Osorio & Catalina Bolancé & Manuela Alcañiz, 2011. "Measuring early childhood health: a composite index comparing Colombian departments," IREA Working Papers 201122, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Oct 2011.
    12. Jordi Perdiguero, 2011. "Vertical relations and local competition: an empirical approach," IREA Working Papers 201124, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Dec 2011.
    13. Lluís Bermúdez & Antoni Ferri & Montse Guillén, 2011. "A correlation sensitivity analysis of non-life underwriting risk in solvency capital requirement estimation," IREA Working Papers 201113, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Sep 2011.
    14. Juan Luis Jiménez & Carmen García, 2012. "“Corruption and local politics: does it pay to be a crook?”," IREA Working Papers 201212, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Jun 2012.
    15. Miguel Santolino & Catalina Bolancé & Manuela Alcañiz, 2011. "Factors affecting hospital admission and recovery stay duration of in-patient motor victims in Spain," IREA Working Papers 201119, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Oct 2011.
    16. Germà Bel & Xavier Fageda & Melania Mur, 2011. "Why do municipalities cooperate to provide local public services? An empirical analysis," IREA Working Papers 201118, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Oct 2011.
    17. David Castells-Quintana & Vicente Royuela, 2014. "Agglomeration, inequality and economic growth," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 52(2), pages 343-366, March.
    18. Xavier Fageda & Marta Gonzalez-Aregall, 2012. "“Regulation of Port Charges in Spain: Global versus Local Competition”," IREA Working Papers 201217, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Oct 2012.
    19. Daniel Albalate, 2012. "“The Institutional, Economic and Social Determinants of Local Government Transparency”," IREA Working Papers 201210, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised May 2012.

    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. Lindsey, Robin, 2012. "Road pricing and investment," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 49-63.
    2. José Castillo-Manzano & Mercedes Castro-Nuño & Xavier Fageda, 2014. "Can health public expenditure reduce the tragic consequences of road traffic accidents? The EU-27 experience," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 15(6), pages 645-652, July.
    3. Castillo-Manzano, José I. & Castro-Nuño, Mercedes & Fageda, Xavier, 2015. "Are traffic violators criminals? Searching for answers in the experiences of European countries," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 86-94.
    4. Daniel Albalate & Germà Bel, 2012. "Motorways, tolls and road safety: evidence from Europe," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 457-473, December.
    5. C. Robin Lindsey & Erik T. Verhoef, 2000. "Traffic Congestion and Congestion Pricing," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 00-101/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    6. Rouwendal, Jan & Verhoef, Erik T., 2004. "2. Second-Best Pricing For Imperfect Substitutes In Urban Networks," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 27-60, January.
    7. Watling, D.P. & Shepherd, S.P. & Koh, A., 2015. "Cordon toll competition in a network of two cities: Formulation and sensitivity to traveller route and demand responses," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 93-116.
    8. Erik T. Verhoef & Kenneth A. Small, 1999. "Product Differentiation on Roads: Second-Best Congestion Pricing with Heterogeneity under Public and Private Ownership," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 99-066/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    9. Erik T. Verhoef, 2000. "Second-Best Congestion Pricing in General Networks - Algorithms for Finding Second-Best Optimal Toll Levels and Toll Points," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 00-084/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    10. Vincent Van Den Berg, 2011. "The effect of private road supply on the volume/capacity ratio when firms compete Stackelberg in Road Capacity," ERSA conference papers ersa11p1203, European Regional Science Association.
    11. Mercedes Castro-Nuno & Jose I. Castillo-Manzano & Xavier Fageda, 2013. "The 'Europeanization' Of The Common Road Safety Policy: An Econometric Analysis," ERSA conference papers ersa13p50, European Regional Science Association.
    12. Daniel Albalate & Germà Bel, 2011. "Privatization and PPPS in transportation infrastructure: Network effects of increasing user fees," IREA Working Papers 201110, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Jun 2011.
    13. Lei Zhang & David Levinson, 2006. "Economics of Road Network Ownership," Working Papers 200908, University of Minnesota: Nexus Research Group.
    14. Engel Eduardo M & Fischer Ronald & Galetovic Alexander, 2004. "Toll Competition Among Congested Roads," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 1-21, March.
    15. Ian W.H. Parry, 2009. "Pricing Urban Congestion," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 461-484, September.
    16. Button, Kenneth, 2020. "The Transition From Pigou’S Ideas On Road Pricing To Their Application," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(3), pages 417-438, September.
    17. David Bishai & Asma Quresh & Prashant James & Abdul Ghaffar, 2006. "National road casualties and economic development," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(1), pages 65-81, January.
    18. Verhoef, Erik T., 1999. "Time, speeds, flows and densities in static models of road traffic congestion and congestion pricing," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 341-369, May.
    19. Daniel Albalate & Germa Bel, 2008. "Shaping urban traffic patterns through congestion charging: What factors drive success or failure?," IREA Working Papers 200801, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Jan 2008.
    20. Small, Kenneth A. & Yan, Jia, 2001. "The Value of "Value Pricing" of Roads: Second-Best Pricing and Product Differentiation," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 310-336, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Road Safety; Tolls; Motorways and Transportation.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:ira:wpaper:200802. 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: Alicia García (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/feubaes.html .

    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.