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The trend towards convergence in road accident fatality rates in Europe: The contributions of non-economic variables

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  • Castillo-Manzano, José I.
  • Castro-Nuño, Mercedes
  • Pedregal, Diego J.

Abstract

This article examines the trends in road traffic fatality rates in a sample of European States over the 1970–2010 period. Taking into account that previous research seems to find that the Europeanization process has had a favorable impact on national road safety performance, our main contribution is to test whether the same mechanism might lead to the convergence of Member States as a whole as a possible outcome. Based on typical convergence methodology for Economic Growth Theory, our findings reveal evidence of the full convergence of road fatality rates across a sample of EU countries during said time period. Compared to the uncertain results obtained by the literature on macroeconomic convergence, we do not find support for the convergence of sub-groups of countries, but a one-speed-convergence for all EU countries. This fact shows that convergence is achievable in certain EU areas even beyond economic convergence through successful efforts made jointly at national and community levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Castillo-Manzano, José I. & Castro-Nuño, Mercedes & Pedregal, Diego J., 2014. "The trend towards convergence in road accident fatality rates in Europe: The contributions of non-economic variables," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 229-240.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:35:y:2014:i:c:p:229-240
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2014.05.021
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    2. Xingpei Yan & Zheng Zhu, 2020. "City-Level China Traffic Safety Analysis via Multi-Output and Clustering-Based Regression Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-13, April.
    3. Filippo Elba & Fiammetta Cosci & Anna Pettini & Federico M. Stefanini, 2018. "Adolescents on the Road: A Case Study of Determinants of Risky Behaviors," CESifo Working Paper Series 7144, CESifo.

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