Rosa Marina González

The value of time: a theoretical review

The main models postulated to study the subjective value of non-working time are reviewed, emphasizing the most important aspects behind the microeconomic formulation of time allocation models: others consider the behavioural assumptions, the role of constraints in the maximization process implicit in this task, and the relevant variables in the utility function. The pioneering models are analysed of Becker (1965), De Serpa (1971, 1973) and Evans (1972), who developed a general theoretical framework which may be applied to modal choice models. Train and McFaddens model (1978) is also considered where the formulation incorporates the theory of random utility in order to analyse the choice of individual transport services. This analysis is further developed in Bates and Roberts (1986), Jara-Diaz and Farah (1987), and Jara-Diaz et al (1988), who extend and perfect the analysis to establish what may be considered as the actual position of research on the subject, and to which the most recent contributions of Jara-Diaz (1994) are to be added.

Clubes de convergencia de países europeos en emisiones de CO2 derivadas del transporte en coche: el papel de la dieselización

La reduccion de las emisiones de C02 es uno de los mayores objetivos de la politica climatica de la Union Europea (UE). Uno de los mayores factores de contaminacion en Europa es el sector del transporte, especialmente el transporte rodado por carretera, responsable de una proporcion sustancial de las emisiones de CO2 debido a la combustion del petroleo. La contribucion de este estudio es doble. En primer lugar, se aplica una novedosa metodologia desarrollada por Phillips and Sul (2007) con el objetivo de examinar la existencia de clubes de convergencia en emisiones de CO2 por coche entre 13 paises de la UE durante el periodo temporal 1991 a 2011. En segundo lugar, se investiga la relacion entre tales clubes de convergencia en emisiones y algunas medidas de dieselizacion, en concreto, el stock de coches diesel sobre el total de la flota y el consumo de diesel sobre el total del combustible. La mayor eficiencia de los vehiculos diesel ha generado una politica fiscal favorable a este combustible, llevando a un intenso proceso de dieselizacion en Europa durante las ultimas decadas. No obstante, algunos estudios recientes (Gonzalez and Marrero, 2012; Rodriguez et al., 2015) han cuestionado el exito de estas politicas como herramientas de reduccion de las emisiones de CO2 en el sector de los coches. Este estudio pretende contribuir a este importante debate. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/CIT2016.2016.3471

Road accidents and business cycles in Spain

This paper explores the causes behind the downturn in road accidents in Spain across the last decade. Possible causes are grouped into three categories: Institutional factors (a Penalty Point System, PPS, dating from 2006), technological factors (active safety and passive safety of vehicles), and macroeconomic factors (the Great recession starting in 2008, and an increase in fuel prices during the spring of 2008). The PPS has been blessed by incumbent authorities as responsible for the decline of road fatalities in Spain. Using cointegration techniques, the GDP growth rate, the fuel price, the PPS, and technological items embedded in motor vehicles appear to be statistically significantly related with accidents. Importantly, PPS is found to be significant in reducing fatal accidents. However, PPS is not significant for non-fatal accidents. In view of these results, we conclude that road accidents in Spain are very sensitive to the business cycle, and that the PPS influenced the severity (fatality) rather than the quantity of accidents in Spain. Importantly, technological items help explain a sizable fraction in accidents downturn, their effects dating back from the end of the nineties.