The IEB research program in Infrastructure and Transport promotes high quality research in those fields in order to assess the economic consequences of investment and policy decisions. The ultimate aim of the program is to generate socially useful knowledge in this important field that is useful to respond to major challenges. Research is methodologically based on the techniques of applied economic analysis, with topics chosen according to their relevance in guiding public policy. Infrastructures and transport policies are closely related with economic growth, public finance, environmental issues and distribution effects at a territorial level. Disseminating research outputs to a broadaudience is an important objective of the program, whose results must be relevant both at national and international level.The Barcelona Institute of Economics (IEB) is a research centre at the University of Barcelona (UB) which specializes in the field of applied economics. The IEB is a foundation funded by the following institutions: Applus, Abertis, Ajuntament de Barcelona, Diputació de Barcelona, Gas Natural, La Caixa and Universitat de Barcelona. The IEB working papers represent ongoing research that is circulated to encourage discussion and has not undergone a peer review process. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and not those of IEB. This paper estimates the role that technological change and car characteristics have played in the rate of fuel consumption of vehicles over time. Using data from the Spanish car market from 1988 to 2013, we estimate a reduced form equation that relates fuel consumption with a set of car characteristics. The results for the sales-weighted sample of vehicles show that energy efficiency would have improved by 32% and 40% for petrol and diesel cars respectively had car characteristics been held constant at 1988 values. However, the shift to bigger and more fuel-consuming cars reduced the gains from technological progress. Additionally, using the results of the fuel equation we show that, besides a natural growth rate of 1.1%, technological progress is affected by both the international price of oil and the adoption of mandatory emission standards. Moreover, according to our estimations, a 1% growth in GDP would modify car characteristics in such a way that fuel consumption would increase by around 0.23% for petrol cars and 0.35% for diesel cars.JEL Codes: L62, Q50, R4
Different studies have estimated cities’ contribution to total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at between forty and seventy percent. According to the so-called Compact City Approach, high density and centrality should lead to low GHG. This study compares the effect of the urban density and spatial structure (monocentrism, polycentrism, and dispersion) of the main U.S. cities on their greenhouse gas emissions from mobility and housing. The estimated models include control variables in order to improve the statistical adjustment, these variables are grouped into three categories: basic controls as temperature and Gross Domestic Product (GDP); historical-demographic controls since 1900; and geographic-urban planning controls. The results detect an environmentally positive effect, albeit a moderate one, associated with monocentric and polycentric spatial structures as compared to dispersed structures. Within the tradition of urban planning, these results can be used as an argument to stop the dispersed decentralization of cities. However, the efficacy of some policies encouraging density should be accompanied by specific policies which increase the energy efficiency of housing and promote the use of public transport.
Purpose This paper aims to estimate the effect of agglomeration on the probability of being an informal firm in Cali, Colombia. Informal firms produce legal goods but do not comply with official regulations. This issue is relevant because, similar to other developing countries, the informal sector in Colombia employs more than 50 per cent of the workforce. The results of this study demonstrate that one standard deviation increase in agglomeration reduces by 52 per cent the probability of being informal. Results are consistent with the idea that informal firms benefit less from agglomeration because of legal restrictions that block the relationship with formal firms. Design/methodology/approach The objective of the present paper is to estimate the effect of agglomeration on the probability that a firm – given a location – chooses to be informal. The authors deal with endogeneity issues by using soil information related to earthquake risk, which reduces the height of buildings and therefore increases the cost of agglomeration. The analysis focuses on Cali, Colombia, where the informal sector employs 60 per cent of the workforce. The registration of economic activities is used as a criterion to identify informal firms, in such a way that the percentage of informal firms is 42 per cent. Findings The authors find that the effect of agglomeration is strongly negative. The probability of being informal diminishes by 52 per cent when agglomeration increases by one standard deviation. Results in this paper shed light on how formal firms tend to be localized in high-density commercial and industrial areas, while informal firms are localized in low-density and peripheral areas where the land for production is cheaper and where they can avoid the control of authorities. Originality/value Theory argues that spatial production externalities and commuting costs are among the main forces that shape the city’s internal structure. Externalities include effects that increase firms’ production, and therefore workers’ income, when the size of the local economy grows. The authors now have strong evidence that firms’ productivity is positively related with the volume of nearby employment. Most of the empirical findings concern firms in the formal sector and, accordingly, the literature says little about the effect of agglomeration on informal firms’ location. However, this effect is crucial for developing countries where informal work is the main option for less-educated workers facing unemployment.
The expansion of urban areas and the growth of the urban population are challenges faced by different territorial administrations across the world. In this context, the objective of this document is to analyze land occupation and the distribution of land uses in Bogotá and 17 municipalities. Therefore, a methodology is proposed in which an accessibility indicator models the spatial structure of the territory based on employment concentrations (the sum of the number of jobs weighted by the distance between each pair of municipalities). Then, the analysis of land use is carried out using a multinomial model, with the accessibility indicator as its principal explanatory variable. In such a way, it is possible to estimate the effects associated with the location decisions of economic agents in the territory. The results will enable policy makers to identify location and relocation patterns; we found evidence of a greater probability of commercial uses within urban areas and a relocation of industrial activity towards rural areas in some municipalities.
Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) have increasingly become vital empowering tools in today's highly datafied society. However, their development has been primarily concerned with improving usability and ensuring confidentiality online. Privileging these considerations might unintendedly lead to fixed ideas about users, but diversity of thought, action, ability, and circumstance play a fundamental role in the distortion and acceptance of any PETs. In this paper we elaborate some of the manifestations of the distortions, like inadequate and exclusory design, and uneven distribution of costs and benefits. Drawing on Amartya Sen's capability approach we propose that a normative evaluation of personal, social, and political diversities can be used as a foundation to conceptualize and develop PETs. We outline a research agenda based on this proposition and suggest pertinent empirical and methodological research paths. Our contribution offers an evaluative space to make inter-personal comparisons to inform the development of PETs.
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