Inducing Demand by Expanding Road Capacity
Controlling for the Rebound Effect
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3775242 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Edmund J Zolnik (0000-0002-6363-1104, George Mason University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 106 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 837-852 |
| Publication date | 2016-07-03 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Annals of the American Association of Geographers (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2469-4452 • E-ISSN: 2469-4460 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/24694452.2016.1167584 |
| OpenAlex | W2347115734 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 28 |
Expanding road capacity and raising fuel economy are two policy mechanisms to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but each is susceptible to feedback effects that might offset their overall effectiveness at promoting sustainable transportation. Expanding road capacity engenders more traffic through the induced demand effect and raising fuel economy encourages more use through the rebound effect. Research on each feedback effect is evident in the sustainable transportation literature. However, research on their interaction is lacking. To fill this void, this article analyzes how additional road capacity and higher fuel economy interact to affect individual vehicle kilometers of travel (VKT) in metropolitan areas across the United States. The article pools individual data from the respective 2001 and 2009 National Household Travel Surveys (NHTS) and adopts a novel methodological approach known as multilevel modeling to estimate a three-level VKT model that nests individuals within vehicles within metropolitan areas. Data on fuel economy at the vehicle level provide an accurate estimate of the rebound effect and data on additional capacity at the metropolitan area level provide an accurate estimate of the induced demand effect. Results indicate that the feedback effects do indeed interact to affect individual travel behavior. Further research with three time points of individual data from the NHTS is necessary to establish a trend, but the empirical results suggest that the interaction between these feedback effects decreases their efficacy to mitigate GHG emissions. However, some of these effects could be offset by higher road and fuel prices
Business · Economics · Environmental economics · Fuel efficiency · Geography · Greenhouse gas · Metropolitan area · Microeconomics · Natural resource economics · Transport engineering · Travel behavior · Vehicle miles of travel · Computer Science · Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies · Engineering · Environmental Impact and Sustainability · Vehicle emissions and performance
Empirical estimates of the direct rebound effect
Energy efficiency and consumption — the rebound effect — a survey
Economic Implications of Mandated Efficiency in Standards for Household Appliances
The Fundamental Law of Road Congestion
Fuel Efficiency and Motor Vehicle Travel
Hierarchical linear models
Empirical evidence on induced traffic
What is induced traffic
Jevons' paradox
Rebound effect
The impact of residential density on vehicle usage and energy consumption
Spatial Patterns and Determinants of Winter Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentrations in an Urban Environment
Personal Gasoline Consumption, Population Patterns, and Metropolitan Structure
Modelling Complexity
| Highly cited | No |
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