Workshop report - Public policy and transport

This workshop considered the wider public policy goals of a range of transport interventions. Particular attention was paid to assessing the role of integration of the different components of the transport system and of the integration of transport with other economic sectors. This assessment was informed by Ray Pawson’s realist evaluation approach, with its emphasis on the inter-relationships between context, process and outcome. The context was provided by case studies covering small urban areas, large urban areas and inter-urban corridors. The three key processes identified related to a regulated system with public ownership and control, a deregulated system with private sector ownership (‘competition in the market’) and a system in which there was public planning of the transport system but private provision (‘competition for the market’). Outcomes can be assessed using cost-benefit analysis tools to determine impacts on economic welfare or more qualitative approaches can be used to determine the extent to which accessibility or sustainability goals have been achieved. The evidence provided suggests that wider public policy goals are more important for urban than for inter-urban transport and it thus in urban areas where integration should be pursued with most vigour. The most relevant process for achieving this would seem to be variants of the competition for the market model. Some policy recommendations are made and implications for further research and for future conferences assessed.     

Pricing strategies for port competition and cooperation

This paper analyzes the effects of integration between two neighbor ports with a third port sharing the same overlapping hinterland. The merger (integrated port) can select either the price discrimination or uniform pricing strategy after integration. Our study reveals that port integration is always beneficial to the merger and the third port, but results in the reduction of consumer surplus and social welfare, regardless of the type of pricing strategy implemented. Further analysis shows that when the inland transportation cost to the ports is relatively low or sufficiently high, a better option is for the merger to adopt the price discrimination strategy. When port pollution is considered and has a relatively large impact, the integration of the two ports improves green social welfare for the region. This finding provides strong support for the ongoing port integration in China. In terms of pricing strategy, the uniform pricing strategy generates higher green social welfare when both inland transportation cost and pollution are relatively low, or both are significantly high. Otherwise, the price discrimination strategy generates the best result for the region.     

A microeconomic interpretation for the system optimal traffic assignment problem with nonadditive path cost

Using a Bergson–Samuelson welfare function, we outline a microeconomic interpretation of the effects of the non-linearity in the time/cost relationship for travellers in a congested transport network. It is demonstrated that a marginal cost traffic flow assignment following Wardrop's second principle, although it minimizes the total cost of a transport network, may reduce social welfare compared to the market equilibrium assignment based on Wardrop's first principle. A welfare-maximizing assignment model is presented and used to show that if the travellers' utility functions are linear, the assignment that maximizes social welfare will be the same as the assignment that minimizes total network cost, but if users' utility functions are non-linear (reflecting the traditional non-satiation and diminishing marginal utility axioms), the two assignments will be different. It is further shown that the effects of this non-linearity are such that a welfare-maximizing assignment will meet with less user resistance than a minimum total network cost assignment.     

促进我国海员事业发展的相关建议

文中分析了我国海员面临的职业风险,指出了目前中国海员的社会现状,提出了提升海员社会地位和福利待遇的五点建议。     

旅客旅行时间价值在航空票价中的应用

在考虑影响旅客出行选择行为的各种因素时,旅客旅行时间价值是十分重要的因素.提出旅客旅行时间的完整性概念.基于旅客对旅行时间价值不同评价,运用经济学理论对航空公司实行多级票价分析,得出多级票价能够使航空公司和消费者实现双赢,同时对价格歧视失效进行分析.在此基础上,从旅客旅行时间的完整性解释廉价航空以及机舱满员不但不能增大...     

城市干路拥堵社会经济评价方法

为评估城市干路交通拥堵导致的经济、环境成本和公众利益损失及其对区域架构的影响,设计了一种定量与定性相结合的分析方法.给出了因交通拥堵产生的八类损失,包括:出行时间损失、燃油损失及车辆损耗、交通事故损失、噪声损失及尾气排放增加的损失等五类从经济或环境、技术角度可量化的损失,以及交通拥堵导致机构搬迁对当地经济的影响、危险品...     

治理假冒伪劣商品泛滥的适度控制分析

在一个国家内根据假冒伪劣商品是极其困难的，即使可能也是不经济的，为了符合经济平衡，应将其控制在能被消费者和企业接受的适度范围内。通过分析政府和企业打击假冒伪劣商品的适度控制问题，求出了企业“打假”费用的最佳投入区间，推导出了企业“打假”费用的投入与销售收入的函数关系式；同时，运用微观经济分析方法，定性地给出了政府“打假”费用投入的最佳规模。     

公益性物流发展策略研究

物流业作为国民经济和社会发展的基础性、战略性产业,以"市场运作,政府引导"为主要原则的发展模式,极大地发挥了市场在物流发展中的决定性作用,较好地解决了政府与市场的关系问题。然而,物流不仅具有经济性,同时还具有社会性,以国有资本发展公益性物流是政府保持宏观经济稳定,加强和优化公共服务,保障公平竞争,推动可持续发展,促进共同富裕,弥补市场失灵的重要政策方向。