| 1. |
- Allard, Alexandra, 1994-, et al.
(author)
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The N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve : an empirical evaluation using a panel quantile regression approach
- 2018
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In: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. - Heidelberg : Springer Verlag. - 0944-1344 .- 1614-7499. ; 25:6, s. 5848-5861
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We evaluate the N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) using panel quantile regression analysis. We investigate the relationship between CO2 emissions and GDP per capita for 74 countries over the period of 1994–2012. We include additional explanatory variables, such as renewable energy consumption, technological development, trade, and institutional quality. We find evidence for the N-shaped EKC in all income groups, except for the upper-middle-income countries. Heterogeneous characteristics are, however, observed over the N-shaped EKC. Finally, we find a negative relationship between renewable energy consumption and CO2 emissions, which highlights the importance of promoting greener energy in order to combat global warming.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Henrik, et al.
(author)
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Economic Analysis and Investment Priorities in Sweden's Transport Sector
- 2018
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In: Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis. - : Cambridge University Press. - 2194-5888 .- 2152-2812. ; 9:1, s. 120-146
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Beginning as a planning tool within Sweden's national road administration some 50 years ago, benefit-cost analysis (BCA) has come to be a pillar of the national transport policy because of subsequent strategic choices made by the national parliament. These choices made it necessary to widen the analysis of costs to include also externalities and a foregone conclusion was that efficient investment priorities should be made based on BCA. But no one asked whether the political decision makers or the BCA models were up to that task. This paper reviews the institutional framework and practice of BCA in Sweden for transport infrastructure investment, and considers design issues that have been and still are debated, such as whether the discount rate should include a risk term and how to account for the marginal cost of public funds. A main concern with BCA results is the underestimation of construction costs, making transport sector projects look better than they are. Several ex post analyses have established that a higher NPV ratio increases the probability of being included in the investment program proposal prepared by the agency. The requirement to let projects undergo BCA seems to make planners trim project proposals by trying to reduce investment costs without significantly reducing benefits. This relationship is weaker among profitable projects. Moreover, there is no correlation between rate of return and the probability of being included in the final program, which is established on political grounds.
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| 3. |
- Asplund, Disa, 1985-, et al.
(author)
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Does uncertainty make cost-benefit analyses pointless?
- 2016
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In: Transportation Research Part A. - Stockholm : Elsevier BV. - 0965-8564 .- 1879-2375. ; 92, s. 195-205
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is widely used in public decision making on infrastructure investments. However, the demand forecasts, cost estimates, benefit valuations and effect assessments that are conducted as part of CBAs are all subject to various degrees of uncertainty. The question is to what extent CBAs, given such uncertainties, are still useful as a way to prioritize between infrastructure investments, or put differently, how robust the policy conclusions of CBA are with respect to uncertainties. Using simulations based on real data on national infrastructure plans in Sweden and Norway, we study how investment selection and total realized benefits change when decisions are based on CBA assessments subject to several different types of uncertainty.Our results indicate that realized benefits and investment selection are surprisingly insensitive to all studied types of uncertainty, even for high levels of uncertainty. The two types of uncertainty that affect results the most are uncertainties about investment cost and transport demand. Provided that decisions are based on CBA outcomes, reducing uncertainty is still worthwhile, however, because of the huge sums at stake. Even moderate reductions of uncertainties about unit values, investment costs, future demand and project effects may increase the realized benefits infrastructure investment plans by tens or hundreds of million euros. We conclude that, despite the many types of uncertainties, CBA is able to fairly consistently separate the wheat from the chaff and hence contribute to substantially improved infrastructure decisions.
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| 4. |
- Balkmar, Dag, 1974-, et al.
(author)
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Contested mobilities : politics, strategies and visions in Swedish bicycle activism
- 2017
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In: Applied mobilities. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2380-0127 .- 2380-0135. ; 2:2, s. 151-165
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cycling is currently the focus of considerable political and public attention in many urban areas. As more and more cyclists claim space on the roads, new forms of political engagement in cycling issues beyond traditional bicycle advocacy have also emerged. Beyond focusing on cyclists’ perspectives and rights, these expressions of bicycle activism show the ways in which bicycles – as potential vehicles for sociopolitical change – are contested political and cultural symbols. The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the ways in which bicycle activists and advocates in Sweden construct their politics and practices. Empirically the paper addresses three expressions of contemporary bicycling activism and advocacy: the well-established Swedish national cycling advocacy organization Cykelfrämjandet (Cycling Sweden), the ad-hoc Ghost Bike Sweden, and the online-based Bike Maffia-initiative. The empirical material of the paper consists of qualitative interviews with the leading representatives from each organization or initiative, as well as written and video materials. As arenas for cultural politics, the organizations or initiatives are diverse, exemplifying highly different views concerning conflicts in urban space, strategies for addressing these conflicts, and views of cyclists as subjects of bicycle politics. The paper addresses these issues in a specific Swedish context, also exploring the implications for understanding how political activism is shaped more generally. It is argued that bicycle activism can be viewed as a way of practising cycling citizenship, a perspective that provides a conceptual linkage between new social movement theory and activism more generally.
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| 5. |
- Forsstedt, Sara
(author)
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Asymmetric information on risky behaviour : Evidence from the automobile insurance market
- 2014
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In: Geneva papers on risk and insurance. Issues and practice. - : Palgrave Macmillan. - 1018-5895 .- 1468-0440. ; 39, s. 104-145
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper examines the Swedish automobile insurance market by accounting for policyholders' private information on risky behaviour in terms of major and minor traffic violations. Two approaches are used: A positive correlation test and a test where private information is used explicitly. The results show that there is a positive correlation, which is not affected when including private information in the regression, that policyholders with private information on risky behaviour are less likely to purchase full coverage, and that speeders follow a varying pattern. The conclusion is that it is favourable to use private information explicitly when asymmetric information is considered, rather than base the conclusion solely on the correlation test.
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| 6. |
- Hysing, Erik, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Building acceptance for congestion charges – the Swedish experiences compared
- 2015
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In: Journal of Transport Geography. - : Elsevier BV. - 0966-6923 .- 1873-1236. ; 49, s. 52-60
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lack of public and political acceptance is the main barrier to introducing congestion charges. Here we compared the experiences of congestion charge introduction in the Swedish cities of Stockholm and Gothenburg, with the aimof explaining differences in political and public acceptance. The results showed the importance of procedural factors, such as the consistency of objectives in policy packages, communication and marketing efforts, and the use of public referendums, and of contextual factors, including urban form, level of congestion, and functioning of public transport. Important lessonswere drawn between the two cities, but primarily on how to design, rather than secure public acceptance for, a congestion tax scheme. To build acceptance for congestion charges, close attention must be paid to the local political and geographical context when designing and implementing such a scheme.
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| 7. |
- Jussila Hammes, Johanna, 1974-
(author)
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Political economics or Keynesian demand-side policies : What determines transport infrastructure investment in Swedish municipalities?
- 2015
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In: Research in Transportation Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0739-8859 .- 1875-7979. ; 51, s. 49-60
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper examines investment in transport infrastructure in Swedish municipalities according to the three National Transport Infrastructure Plans of 2004, 2010 and 2014. The plans cover 12 years each. The test of a swing voter model, combined with variables relevant to the Keynesian model of demand side policies, supports the proposition that there is less investment in municipalities with highly partisan electorates. The model seems to work better for road than for rail investments. Municipalities with a high density of voters at the ideological cut-point (middle of the ideological distribution) got more investment in the 2010 plan but not in the other plans. The impact of the elasticity of output on public service provision raised investment in road projects in sub-plan period 1 compared to later sub-plan periods. The tax elasticity of output may influence the volume of investment downward. The Plan for 2010–2021 seems to be the most politically determined of the plans considered here.
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| 8. |
- Krüger, Niclas A., et al.
(author)
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Consumer value of fuel choice flexibility : a case study of the flex-fuel car in Sweden
- 2013
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In: European Transport Research Review. - Heidelberg, Germany : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1867-0717 .- 1866-8887. ; 5:4, s. 207-215
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: This paper examines the value of fuel choice flexibility derived from a flex-fuel engine. Method: Based on the stochastic properties of fuel prices, we use Monte-Carlo simulation in order to value the option to switch fuel. Results: Our findings indicate a considerable value of fuel choice flexibility, ranging between 7,500 and 37,800 SEK, depending on the underlying stochastic process we assume that fuel prices follow. This can be compared to the state subsidy of 10,000 SEK provided until recently for buying a flex-fuel car. Conclusion: Compared to an environmentally friendly pure ethanol strategy, the switching strategy is considerably less costly, about 2,000-19,000 SEK depending on the assumed underlying stochastic process, a fact that is important to take into consideration with environmental policy.
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| 9. |
- Krüger, Niclas A
(author)
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Estimating Traffic Demand Risk : A Multiscale Analysis
- 2012
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In: Transportation Research Part A. - Stockholm : Elsevier. - 0965-8564 .- 1879-2375. ; 46:10, s. 1741-1751
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper proposes a novel method for estimating the traffic demand risk associated with transportation. Using mathematical properties of wavelets, we develop a statistical measure of traffic demand sensitivity with respect to GDP. This measure can be adapted in a flexible way to capture risk levels relevant for different investment horizons. We demonstrate the timescale decomposition of risk with Swedish traffic demand data for 1950-2005. In general, rail transport shows a stronger co-movement with GDP than road transport. Moreover, we examine the volatility exhibited by traffic demand. Our findings suggest that rail investments are more risky than road investments. Since the findings can be used for optimal investment timing and for choice between public investment alternatives, they are deemed important for public policy in general.
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| 10. |
- Krüger, Niclas A
(author)
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Fatal Connections : Socioeconomic Determinants of Road Accident Risk and Drunk Driving in Sweden
- 2013
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In: Journal of Safety Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-4375 .- 1879-1247. ; 46, s. 49-65
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Problem: In recent years a considerable number of papers have examined socioeconomic factors influencing the number and the outcome of traffic accidents. There is however more research needed to confirm the previous results in order to generalize them and a need to examine additional factors that might have an impact.Method: This paper uses both regional panel data and national time series data combined with filtering techniques to determine what factors influence the number of accidents, the accident outcome and detected drunk driving.Results: Using time series data, it is found that the number of traffic fatalities increases for both per capita and per person kilometer travelled during economic booms. This indicates that the death risk rises not only because of increased mileage or motorization during booms. Using panel data, it is found that traffic fatalities decrease with unemployment, whereas personal injuries increase on a per capita basis with youth and the number of cars. In contrast to property crimes and other types of crime, drunk driving in Sweden decreases during economic contractions. Discussion: The main policy conclusion from our results is that resources for safety measures should not be spend uniformly across time and space. Instead, safety measures should be concentrated to areas with a high share of young people and to periods with low unemployment. The results of the time series analysis suggest that factors other than increased mileage during booms contribute to the higher rate of fatalities during good times. Increased risk taking, such as drunk driving, might be an explanatory factor.Impact on Industry: The results might be interesting for safety-oriented car and truck producers as well for developers of traffic safety products, since the results indicate in what regional markets and under what market conditions their products are most needed.
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