Elasticities and tax incidence in urban ridesharing markets
Evidence from Chicago
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11080433 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Matthew Tarduno (0000-0001-9682-479X, University of Illinois Chicago, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 150 |
| Pages | 103809 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Urban Economics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0094-1190 • E-ISSN: 1095-9068 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.jue.2025.103809 |
| OpenAlex | W7083588248 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 28 |
Over the past decade, many U.S. cities have imposed taxes on Uber and Lyft, leading to debate over the impacts and incidence of these policies. This paper answers three questions about these taxes: (i) How do ridesharing taxes impact trip prices and quantities? (ii) What are the implied market supply and demand elasticities, and (iii) Who bears the burden of ridesharing taxes? Using data from Chicago, I show that ridesharing demand is inelastic in both gross terms, and relative to supply. Accordingly, 89% of the city’s ridesharing tax is passed through to passengers. From a distributional standpoint, travel survey data suggest that ridesharing taxes are roughly as progressive as the federal income tax schedule. Finally, back-of-the-envelope calculations informed by these results suggest that ridesharing taxes of the size typically seen in the U.S. are unlikely to generate meaningful improvements in congestion or air pollution
Economic impact analysis · Household income · Supply and demand · Supply side · Survey data collection · Tax credit · Tax deferral · Tax incidence · Latin American social science · Latin American socio-political dynamics · Politics and Society in Latin America
Subways, Strikes, and Slowdowns
The Fundamental Law of Road Congestion
Do transportation network companies decrease or increase congestion?
The Gender Earnings Gap in the Gig Economy
The triple difference estimator
Taxing ride‐sharing
Uber and Traffic Fatalities
The congestion costs of Uber and Lyft
Taxi Travel Should Be Subsidized
The effects of road pricing on driver behavior and air pollution
Is Uber a substitute or complement for public transit
Pass-Through as an Economic Tool
The Value of Flexible Work
The London Congestion Charge
An Analysis of the Labor Market for Uber's Driver-Partners in the United States
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |