The Determinants of Fuel Use in the Trucking Industry – Volume, Size and the Rebound Effect

We analyse the determinants of trucking firm fuel use. We develop a simple model to show that trucking firm fuel use depends, in addition to the fuel price and the traffic volume, also on the output of the trucking firm’s production process (the movement of cargo) measured in ton- kilometres, characteristics of the truck stock, and congestion. We also analyse the rebound effect for road freight transportation, i.e. the percentage of increased energy efficiency that does not result in the reduction of fuel used. For the purpose of analysing the rebound effect for road freight transportation, we decompose the standard definition of the rebound effect for motor vehicles, i.e. the elasticity of traffic volume with respect to fuel cost, into the elasticity by which changes in fuel costs affects freight activity and the elasticity by which changes in freight activity affect traffic volume. We estimate these elasticities using a simultaneous-equation model based on aggregate time-series data for Denmark for 1980-2007. Our best estimates of the short run and the long run rebound effects for road freight transportation are 19% and 28%, respectively. We also find that an increase in the fuel price surprisingly has a small but significant negative effect on the fuel efficiency (measured here as vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) per litre of consumed fuel), i.e. a 1% increase in the fuel price decreases the fuel efficiency by 0.13% in the long run. However, less distance has to be driven for the same payload. An 1% increase in the fuel price decreases the VKT by 0.19% in the short run and 0.28% in the long run. Finally, a 1% increase in the fuel price results in a 0.19% reduction in the trucking firms’ overall fuel use

Mitologi dan Agama dalam Masyarakat Modern

The elimination of myths and religion in modern society has resulted in the despiritualization of religion and the demoralization of spirituality. The predominantly materialistic and positivistic approach of science has created a spiritual and humanitarian crisis, perceiving nature as a lifeless mechanical entity. This perspective contradicts the beliefs of our ancestors who revered nature as a living entity akin to humans. This study elucidates the relationship between myths, religion, and science through the perspectives of Karen Armstrong and Jalaluddin Rumi. Armstrong asserts that myths and religious laws are not true due to their alignment with metaphysical, scientific, or historical realities, but because of their life-affirming nature. Rumi, in his view, illustrates that knowledge that penetrates the soul requires spirit and emanates from the sublime realm beyond reason and words. This perspective amalgamates myths, religion, and science into a unity that respects spiritual existence and regards nature as something far beyond the comprehension of ordinary human beings.AbstrakPenyingkiran mitos dan agama dalam masyarakat modern telah menyebabkan dispiritualisasi agama dan demoralisasi spiritual. Ilmu pengetahuan yang cenderung materialistik dan positivistik telah menciptakan krisis spiritual dan kemanusian, menganggap alam sebagai mesin mekanis tanpa kehidupan. Pandangan ini bertentangan dengan kepercayaan leluhur kita yang menghormati alam sebagai entitas bernyawa, seperti manusia. Kajian ini mendeskripsikan hubungan antara mitos, agama, dan ilmu pengetahuan melalui perspektif Karen Armstrong dan Jalaluddin Rumi. Armstrong menyatakan bahwa mitos dan hukum agama bukanlah benar karena kesesuaiannya dengan realitas metafisik, ilmiah, atau historis, tetapi karena sifatnya yang menghidupkan. Rumi, dalam pandangannya, menggambarkan bahwa pengetahuan yang mencapai jiwa memerlukan ruh dan berasal dari alam yang agung di luar nalar dan kata-kata. Pandangan ini menggabungkan mitos, agama, dan ilmu pengetahuan sebagai satu kesatuan yang menghormati keberadaan spiritual dan memandang alam sebagai sesuatu yang jauh melampaui pemahaman manusia biasa.   

Modeling the relation between income and commuting distance

We discuss the distribution of commuting distances and its relation to income. Using data from Denmark, the UK, and the US, we show that the commuting distance is (i) broadly distributed with a slow decaying tail that can be fitted by a power law with exponent $\gamma \approx 3$ and (ii) an average growing slowly as a power law with an exponent less than one that depends on the country considered. The classical theory for job search is based on the idea that workers evaluate the wage of potential jobs as they arrive sequentially through time, and extending this model with space, we obtain predictions that are strongly contradicted by our empirical findings. We propose an alternative model that is based on the idea that workers evaluate potential jobs based on a quality aspect and that workers search for jobs sequentially across space. We also assume that the density of potential jobs depends on the skills of the worker and decreases with the wage. The predicted distribution of commuting distances decays as $1/r^{3}$ and is independent of the distribution of the quality of jobs. We find our alternative model to be in agreement with our data. This type of approach opens new perspectives for the modeling of mobility.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Does improving public transport decrease car ownership? Evidence from a residential sorting model for the Copenhagen metropolitan area

Car ownership is lower in urban areas, where public transport is of high quality. This suggests that better public transport offers the possibility to relieve the many problems (congestion, pollution, and parking) associated with the presence of cars in urban areas. To investigate this issue, we develop a model for the simultaneous choice of residential location and car ownership by households, and estimate it on Danish data, paying special attention to accessibility of the metro network. We use the estimated model to simulate the impact of an extension of the metro network. We show that for the Greater Copenhagen Area an extension of the metro network decreases car ownership by 2–3%, while the average compensating variation is approximately 3% of household income

Transport consumption inequalities and redistributive effects of taxes: A comparison of France, Denmark and Cyprus

We evaluate household transport consumption inequalities in France, Denmark and Cyprus, investigate their temporal dynamics and estimate the redistributive effects of taxes on different commodity categories. A comparative analysis is carried out in light of the differences between these countries, most notably in terms of car taxation systems and car ownership levels. A decomposition by expenditure component of the Gini index is applied, using household-level data from repeated cross-sections of expenditure surveys spanning long time periods. The results highlight the effect of car social diffusion. The relative contribution of vehicle use items to total expenditure inequality decreases over time, thus reflecting the more and more widespread use of the car. Moreover, fuel taxes become regressive (i.e. they affect the poor more than the rich), while the progressive character of taxes on the remaining car use commodities weakens with time. Taxes on transport goods and services as a whole are progressive (i.e. they affect the rich more than the poor). However, this is principally due to the progressivity of taxes on automobile purchases. The progressivity of taxes on car purchases is by far much stronger in Denmark. In this country, these taxes are so high that car purchase costs can be afforded only by high incomes. These findings underline the fact that equity issues should not be overlooked when designing policies to attenuate the environmental impact of cars. Increasing car use costs, notably fuel prices, through an increase of uniform taxes would be particularly inequitable.Inequality; transport consumption; household expenditure surveys; Gini index; decomposition by component; redistributive effects of taxes