Green commuting and gasoline taxes in the United States

Abstract

This paper analyzes how gasoline tax rates are related to the time workers in the United States spend commuting by private car, public transport, or with other physical modes of transport. Our identification strategy relies on both interstate differences and time variations in gasoline taxes. Using the American Time Use Surveys for the years 2003 to 2015, we find that higher gasoline tax rates are related to less time spent in commuting. Furthermore, higher gasoline taxes are related to less commuting by private car, and more commuting by public transport and/or a physical mode of transport (walking or cycling). Our results highlight the importance of gasoline taxes in the consumption of energy for personal transport, as higher gasoline taxes are related to a greater use of

Green mobility and well-being

“…4 We analyze the relationship between mode of transport and the feelings experienced during travel. To that end, we classify survey information on mode of transport, following Gimenez-Nadal and Molina (2019). We focus on private transport (car, truck, or motorbike, both as driver or passenger), public transport (bus, subway, tram, boat, ferry, taxi, or airplane) and physical transport (walking and cycling).…”

The Effectiveness of Environmental Taxes in Reducing CO2 Emissions in Passenger Vehicles: The Case of Mediterranean Countries

“…A study conducted in the United States (US), when analyzing the effect of gasoline tax rates, demonstrates that higher gasoline taxes result in more travelling by public transport or even cycling and walking, and less travelling by private cars. Indeed, higher gasoline taxes were found to be a crucial instrument of environmental policy, as they incentivize the use of greener transportation modes [4]. Higher fuel taxes also lead consumers to prefer cars with better fuel efficiency, increasing the demand for more efficient vehicles [5].…”

Reform of the Personal Income Tax in Spain: Effects on Internal Mobility of the Unemployed

“…As the province/municipality of residence is not available in the data, whether the unemployed worker migrated or opted instead for commuting to the new workplace is not clear-cut (see Giménez-Nadal and Molina 2014, 2016, 2019a, 2019bGimémez-Nadal et al 2018. To distinguish in practice between these cases, the following rules are applied.…”