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On Subsidising Auto-Commuting

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  • Edward Calthrop

Abstract

Evidence suggests that a considerable proportion of peak period trips are made for purposes other than commuting to or from work.given the different degrees of Hicksian complementarity with the labour market, optimal tax theory suggests that, in a second-best world, different trip purposes should be taxed at different rates. This paper explores this issue and argues for a uniform congestion toll (independent of trip-purpose) combined with a subsidy to auto-commuters. A numerical model suggests that while, in the absence of congestion tolls, commuting subsidies are welfare decreasing, an optimal pricing scheme entails auto-commuters receiving a subsidy of nearly 50 percent of the uniform road toll.

Suggested Citation

  • Edward Calthrop, 2001. "On Subsidising Auto-Commuting," CESifo Working Paper Series 566, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_566
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Tscharaktschiew, Stefan & Hirte, Georg, 2012. "Should subsidies to urban passenger transport be increased? A spatial CGE analysis for a German metropolitan area," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 285-309.
    2. Hirte, Georg & Tscharaktschiew, Stefan, 2018. "The impact of anti-congestion policies and the role of labor-supply margins," CEPIE Working Papers 04/18, Technische Universität Dresden, Center of Public and International Economics (CEPIE).
    3. Hirte, Georg & Tscharaktschiew, Stefan, 2011. "Income tax deduction of commuting expenses and tax funding in an urban CGE study: the case of German cities," Dresden Discussion Paper Series in Economics 02/11, Technische Universität Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics.
    4. Matthias Wrede, 2003. "Tax Deductibility of Commuting Expenses and Residential Land Use with more than one Center," CESifo Working Paper Series 972, CESifo.
    5. Hirte, Georg & Tscharaktschiew, Stefan, 2015. "Does labor supply modeling affect findings of transport policy analyses?," Dresden Discussion Paper Series in Economics 01/15, Technische Universität Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics.
    6. Hirte, Georg & Tscharaktschiew, Stefan, 2020. "The role of labor-supply margins in shaping optimal transport taxes," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 22(C).
    7. Hirte, Georg & Tscharaktschiew, Stefan, 2013. "Income tax deduction of commuting expenses in an urban CGE study: The case of German cities," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 11-27.
    8. Mayeres, Inge & Proost, Stef & Dender, Kurt Van, 2005. "The Impacts of Marginal Social Cost Pricing," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 211-243, January.
    9. Georg Hirte & Stefan Tscharaktschiew, 2015. "Why not to choose the most convenient labor supply model? The impact of labor supply modeling on policy evaluation," ERSA conference papers ersa15p303, European Regional Science Association.

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