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Ticket to Paradise? The Effect of a Public Transport Subsidy on Air Quality

Author

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  • Niklas Gohl

    (University of Potsdam, DIW Berlin, Berlin School of Economics)

  • Philipp Schrauth

    (University of Potsdam)

Abstract

This paper provides novel evidence on the impact of public transport subsidies on air pollution. We obtain causal estimates by leveraging a unique policy intervention in Germany that temporarily reduced nationwide prices for regional public transport to a monthly flat rate price of 9 Euros. Us-ing DiD estimation strategies on air pollutant data, we show that this intervention causally reduced a benchmark air pollution index by more than six percent. Our results illustrate that public transport subsidies – especially in the context of spatially constrained cities – offer a viable alterna-tive for policymakers and city planers to improve air quality, which has been shown to crucially affect health outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Niklas Gohl & Philipp Schrauth, 2022. "Ticket to Paradise? The Effect of a Public Transport Subsidy on Air Quality," CEPA Discussion Papers 50, Center for Economic Policy Analysis.
    • Handle: RePEc:pot:cepadp:50
    DOI: 10.25932/publishup-55846
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Webster, Grant, 2024. "Free fare for better air? Evaluating the impacts of free fare public transit on air pollution," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    air pollution; public transport; transport subsidies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy

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