Determinants of car ownership among young households in the Netherlands: The role of urbanisation and demographic and economic characteristics

Abstract

Determinants of car ownership among young households in the Netherlands General rightsIt is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. AbstractIn the Netherlands, car ownership among young adults has slowly decreased in recent decades. The main causes of this trend are still unclear. Using a unique dataset in which vehicle registration data were combined with population and income register data for 2012/2013, this paper explores how car ownership among young Dutch households varies with household composition, urbanisation level (of household location), household income, employment status and ethnic background. Logistic regression analysis of this data revealed that urbanisation level and household composition are essential factors influencing car ownership. In addition, we found significant interaction effects between these two factors: the influence of urbanisation level on car ownership was much stronger for young couples than for young families or singles. Our results imply that increasing urbanisation and postponement of parenthood could reduce future car ownership among young adults in general. However, the increasing number of young families moving to more urbanised areas could increase future car ownership in cities.

A New Geographical Cluster View on Passenger Vehicle Purchasing in Chinese Cities

“…Researchers in other countries have found that important factors for car ownership include individual and household income, employment status, household location, cultural background, car price, energy prices, access to public transportation, build environment, etc. [13][14][15][16]. Thus, more research is needed to explore such factors in China.…”

Changing Influence of Factors Explaining Household Car Ownership Levels in the Netherlands

“…According to previous studies, there are five main categories of determinants that positively or negatively affect household car ownership levels (8,(12)(13)(14). First, traditional economic factors, including household income, vehicle prices, and fuel costs affect household car ownership levels (2,8,13,(15)(16)(17)(18)(19).…”

“…First, traditional economic factors, including household income, vehicle prices, and fuel costs affect household car ownership levels (2,8,13,(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). For example, higher income levels positively affect car ownership levels, whereas lower levels of income, in a limited way, affect car ownership levels (15).…”

“…Third, a common finding is that spatial or land use characteristics play an important role in car ownership among households, including the level of (sub)urbanization and access to transport infrastructure (2,8,12,18). Research has shown that households in highly urbanized areas are less likely to own a car compared with households in thinly populated areas where the necessity of owning a car becomes higher (2).…”

“…The factors that have been considered include a decline in car ownership by young adults, increased suburbanization, and economic trends (e.g., the economic crisis of 2008/2009) (6)(7)(8). Although there is much debate on the influence of various factors, ostensibly there is consensus on the claim that the influence of certain factors might have changed over time.…”