Jérôme Massiani

A medium term evaluation of the Ecopass road pricing scheme in Milan: economic, environmental and transport impacts

The paper provides an evaluation of the Ecopass road pricing scheme for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010. The term Ecopass conveys the stated political objective of the scheme: a PASS to improve the quality of the urban environment (ECO). The scheme has actually improved the air quality in Milan, although the recommended PM10 threshold is still exceeded for a larger number of days than that recommended by EU directives. This paper estimates the costs and benefits of the scheme three years after its implementation using the same methodology applied in Rotaris et al. (2010) for the year 2008. The results indicate that the benefits still exceed the costs, and by an increasing amount, but at an annual decreasing rate of improvement. The Ecopass scheme has proved beneficial, but it seems to have exhausted its potential: little further gains in air quality could be obtained via a fiscal incentive to improve the abatement technology of the vehicles. The new administration, elected in June 2011, was faced with the task of deciding whether to dismiss, maintain or change the Ecopass scheme. The prevailing idea coming from the Ecopass Commission and from the advocacy groups was to extend both the area of application and the number of classes subject to the charge. In November 2011 the new administration decided to substitute Ecopass with Area C, a policy based on a congestion charge which incorporates some environmental elements.

Stated preference surveys for electric and alternative fuel vehicles: are we doing the right thing?

Abstract This perspective paper analyzes the practice of stated preference (SP) surveys for electric vehicles (EVs) and identifies a number of limitations in the way they are currently undertaken. Specifically, it is found that SP surveys may not adequately represent several dimensions that are relevant in the context of EVs purchase such as: garage ownership, second v. first car, and refueling conditions, and they often neglect transitory technologies (plug-in hybrid) which are in fact an important element in the diffusion of EVs. This paper also provides a number of recommendations for practitioners to conceive more realistic SP surveys, which could increase the validity of policy recommendations formulated by applied economists.

SPECIFIC VS GENERIC GOODS:IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSPORT DEMAND ANALYSIS

In this paper, we investigate the theoretical and empirical relevance of the distinction between generic goods and specific goods for the understanding of freight transportation demand. Specific goods are made for a single customer while generic goods are produced irrespective of which final customer will buy them. Theoretically, the distinction lays on a different relationship with time, based, for specific goods, on the trade-off between transport duration and cost and, for generic goods, on optimal stock. We claim that the distinction might affect shippers’ valuation of freight transport attributes such as value of time, value of transport time reliability and value of the risk of loss and damages. Since neither the sign nor the size of the effect can be established on pure theoretical grounds, an empirical analysis is carried out to test whether shippers value freight service attributes differently for the two types of goods. It is found that the value of transport time is significantly larger for generic than for specific goods.

The Use of Stated Preferences to Forecast Alternative Fuel Vehicles Market Diffusion: Comparisons with Other Methods and Proposal for a Synthetic Utility Function

Stated Preferences are, together with Bass diffusion and, to a lesser extent, Total Cost of Ownership, the most popular methods to forecast the future diffusion of electric and alternative fuel vehicles. In this contribution, we compare the merits and limitations of SP relative to other methods. We also review the empirical results provided by SP surveys and assess their validity for modeling market diffusion. We also propose a meta-analysis-based Synthetic Utility Function that consolidates results across various studies and can be used, for simulation purpose, in a Discrete Choice Model context. Such an approach makes the simulation results less dependent of single surveys� idiosyncrasies, and hence is helpful for the formulation of robust policy recommendations.

I promessi soldi: L’impatto economico dei mega eventi in Italia: da Torino 2006 a Milano 2015

Mega events are often perceived as an opportunity to foster economic development and are thus regularly present on the policy agenda in Italy as in other countries. However, no convincing analysis has yet been written, at least in Italy, about the real impact of mega events. This book partially fills in this gap. It achieves a critic of existing studies on the mega events in Italy, specifically focusing on Turin 2006 and Milan 2015. This research analyses the methodological issues that hinder the validity of these assessments and generate inflated estimated impacts. This book has been written for experts, researchers, students and more generally whoever is interested in evaluating the impact of projects capable of shifting billions of euro of public expenditures.

SP Surveys for Electric and Alternative Fuel Vehicles: Are We Doing the Right Thing?

This paper analyses the practice of SP surveys for Electric Vehicles and identifies a number of their limitations. Specifically it is found that SP surveys may not represent adequately several dimensions that are relevant in the context of EV purchase such as garage ownership, second versus first car, refueling conditions, and that they often neglect transitory technologies (Plug in Hybrid) which are instead an important element in the diffusion of EVs. This paper also provides a number of recommendations for practitioners to conceive more realistic SP surveys which could increase the validity of policy recommendations formulated by economists.