Bicycle Infrastructure and Traffic Congestion: Evidence from DC\u27s Capital Bikeshare

This study explores the impact of bicycle-sharing infrastructure on urban transportation. We estimate a causal effect of the Capital Bikeshare on traffic congestion in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area. We exploit a unique traffic dataset that is finely defined on a spatial and temporal scale. Our approach examines within-city commuting decisions as opposed to traffic patterns on major thruways. Empirical results suggest that the availability of a bikeshare reduces traffic congestion upwards of 4% within a neighborhood. In addition, we estimate heterogeneous treatment effects using panel quantile regression. Results indicate that the congestion-reducing impact of bikeshares is concentrated in highly congested areas

Cost Misperception and Voting for Public Goods

Public good provision is often determined through referendums by voters, who weigh benefits against costs. We evaluate voter perceptions of the private costs of providing public goods by conducting three exit polls of New England voters and an online survey of California voters. By comparing cost perceptions to actual tax incidence, we find pervasive evidence that voters misperceive costs. Fewer than 20% of voters in our samples reported perceived costs within 25% of true costs. Further, our analysis suggests that actual costs have no statistical bearing on voter choice, but at least in the New England sample voter approval is affected by perceived costs. Thus, misperceptions of referendum costs can lead to voter choice errors, misallocation of public funds, and casts doubt on nonmarket valuation methods predicated on perfect information using voter behavior