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Unpacking Preference: How Previous Experience Affects Auto Ownership in the United States

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  • Rachel Weinberger

    (Department of City and Regional Planning, University of Pennsylvania, 210 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, USA, rrw@design.upenn.edu)

  • Frank Goetzke

    (Department of Urban and Public Affairs, University of Louisville, 426 West Bloom Street, Louisville, Kentucky, 40208, USA, f0goet01@louisville.edu)

Abstract

As environmental concerns mount alongside increasing auto dependence, research has been devoted to understanding the number of automobiles households own. The 2000 US census public use micro sample is used to demonstrate the importance of preference formation in auto ownership by studying auto ownership among recent movers. Using a multinomial probit model, the paper demonstrates that residents in the US transit cities who moved from major metropolitan areas are more likely to own fewer vehicles than counterparts who moved from smaller metropolitan areas and non-metropolitan areas. It is concluded that these results are due to learned preferences for levels of car ownership. Once the self-reinforcing ‘cultural knowledge’ of living without cars is lost, it could be difficult to regain. A focus on children and young adults, familiarising them with alternatives to the car may be an important approach to developing collective preferences for fewer cars.

Suggested Citation

  • Rachel Weinberger & Frank Goetzke, 2010. "Unpacking Preference: How Previous Experience Affects Auto Ownership in the United States," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 47(10), pages 2111-2128, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:47:y:2010:i:10:p:2111-2128
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098009357354
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Lovejoy, Kristin, 2012. "Mobility Fulfillment Among Low-car Households: Implications for Reducing Auto Dependence in the United States," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt4v44b5qn, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    2. Mattauch, Linus & Hepburn, Cameron & Stern, Nicholas, 2018. "Pigou pushes preferences: decarbonisation and endogenous values," INET Oxford Working Papers 2018-16, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    3. Sabreena Anowar & Naveen Eluru & Luis F. Miranda-Moreno, 2014. "Alternative Modeling Approaches Used for Examining Automobile Ownership: A Comprehensive Review," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(4), pages 441-473, July.
    4. Macfarlane, Gregory S. & Garrow, Laurie A. & Mokhtarian, Patricia L., 2015. "The influences of past and present residential locations on vehicle ownership decisions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 186-200.
    5. Schwanen, Tim & Banister, David & Anable, Jillian, 2012. "Rethinking habits and their role in behaviour change: the case of low-carbon mobility," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 522-532.
    6. Chakrabarti, Sandip & Painter, Gary, 2019. "Geographic mobility of recent immigrants and urban transit demand in the U.S.: New evidence and planning implications," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 71-82.
    7. Maness, Michael & Cirillo, Cinzia, 2016. "An indirect latent informational conformity social influence choice model: Formulation and case study," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 75-101.
    8. Weinberger, Rachel, 2012. "Death by a thousand curb-cuts: Evidence on the effect of minimum parking requirements on the choice to drive," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 93-102.
    9. Mattauch, Linus & Hepburn, Cameron & Spuler, Fiona & Stern, Nicholas, 2022. "The economics of climate change with endogenous preferences," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    10. Kopnina, Helen & Williams, Melanie, 2012. "Car attitudes in children from different socio-economic backgrounds in the Netherlands," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 118-125.
    11. Kent, Jennifer L., 2014. "Driving to save time or saving time to drive? The enduring appeal of the private car," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 103-115.
    12. Chatman, Daniel G. & Klein, Nicholas J., 2013. "Why do immigrants drive less? Confirmations, complications, and new hypotheses from a qualitative study in New Jersey, USA," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 336-344.
    13. Scheiner, Joachim, 2018. "Transport costs seen through the lens of residential self-selection and mobility biographies," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 126-136.
    14. van Wee, Bert & De Vos, Jonas & Maat, Kees, 2019. "Impacts of the built environment and travel behaviour on attitudes: Theories underpinning the reverse causality hypothesis," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).

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