Economics of Regulating Road Transport

Erik Verhoef, Professor of Spatial Economics, Department of Spatial Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands

'In sum, this book with its focus on individual behaviour and demand for travel is a refreshing change from supply augmenting policies and technical fixes that are routinely advocated in this field (but which do not work in the long run). It is not often that one comes across research which is theoretically and empirically sound and at the same time has immediate policy relevance. Economists interested in transport issues in third world cities may do worse than mull over Verhoef's findings and conclusions as they wait in traffic jams.'

• Part I Introductory chapters: external effects and social costs of road transport - conceptual issues and recent empirical results for the Netherlands. Part II Efficiency of regulation: second-best regulation of road transport externalities; second-best congestion pricing with an untolled alternative; information provision, flat and fine congestion pricing in regulating stochastic congestion; the economics of regulatory parking policies; transport, spatial economy and the global environment. Part III Equity aspects and social feasibility of regulation: efficiency and equity in externalities; the trade-off between efficiency, effectiveness and social feasibility of regulating road transport externalities; the social feasibility of road pricing - a case study for the Randstad area; the social feasibility and effectiveness of regulatory parking policies - a case study at the firm level. Part IV Conclusion: towards an efficient and socially feasible regulation of road transport externalities.