Abstract

Three independent research papers, all broadly focused on urban and transportation economics comprise the chapters of this dissertation. These empirical papers address a variety of policy oriented issues surrounding the automobile. Although related in theme, the objective, scope, and empirical strategy of each paper differs. The first chapter, “Does traffic congestion reduce employment growth?”, examines the impact of traffic congestion on employment growth in large U.S. metropolitan areas. I use an historic highway plan and political variables to serve as instruments for endogenous congestion. The results show that high initial levels of congestion dampen subsequent employment growth. This finding suggests that increasing the efficiency of public infrastructure can spur local economies. A set of counterfactual estimates show that the employment-growth returns from modest capacity expansion or congestion pricing are substantial. The second chapter, “Induced demand and rebound effects in road transport” (with Kenneth Small and Kurt Van Dender) uses a simultaneous equations model and aggregate data to estimate how drivers’ respond to exogenous increases in vehicle fuel-efficiency. One consequence of efficiency improvements is an increase vehicle use, which can moderate fuel savings. Accurate measures of this so-called ‘rebound effect’, are of interest to policy makers assessing the effectiveness of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. This research paper also measures how traffic congestion and highway infrastructure affect vehicle use. The third chapter, “Evaluating the effectiveness of metered parking policy: evidence from a quasi-experiment”, uses a unique observational data set to assess metered parking policy. Although metered parking is ubiquitous, we know little about its effectiveness, particularly its impact on the retailers it is designed to assist. Sharp twice-daily changes in parking meter enforcement allow me to compare shopping behavior in both free and metered parking environments. Using the regression discontinuity design, I find that parking fees can have large impacts on nearby commerce.