RFF Transportation and Urban Land

Price Breaks and Priuses

Government tax incentives helped drive U.S. sales of hybrid cars, but with the credits due to expire in 2010, RFF Fellow Shanjun Li asks whether they still make sense.

Fuel Tax Incidence in Developing Countries: The Case Of Costa Rica

Fuel Tax Incidence in Developing Countries: The Case of Costa Rica

Traffic Safety and Vehicle Choice: Quantifying the Effects of the ?Arms Race? on American Roads

How Do Gasoline Prices Affect Fleet Fuel Economy?

Gasoline Prices, Government Support, and the Demand for Hybrid Vehicles

Traffic Safety and Vehicle Choice: Quantifying the Effects of the "Arms Race" on American Roads

Lose Some, Save Some: Obesity, Automobile Demand, and Gasoline Consumption in the U.S.

Roads to Participatory Planning: Integrating Cognitive Mapping and GIS for Transport Prioritization in Rural Lesotho

Gender and GIS: Mapping the Links between Spatial Exclusion, Transport Access, and the Millennium Development Goals in Lesotho, Ethiopia, and Ghana

The New Economics of Managing the Nation's Waste

In an August 10 commentary, Molly Macauley and Stephen Salant discuss how regulations on shipments raise the overall costs of managing U.S. waste disposal.

Declining Traffic Fatalities: Lessons for Developing Countries?

In a July 27 commentary, Maureen Cropper and Elizabeth Kopits examine the phenomenon of initially rising, then peaking, then declining traffic fatality rates as countries develop over time.

Climate Change and Infrastructure: A Volatile Mix?

An RFF Report looks at how U.S. roads, telecommunications, coasts, electrical systems, and water supplies may be affected by changes in climate and suggests ways to prepare through policy choices.

How Regressive is the Gas Tax?

In a June 22 policy commentary, Sarah West looks at the burden that gas taxes place on low-income households.

Waste Not, Want Not: Transforming the Town Dump

Effective disposal of garbage ranks among the highest concerns of local officials, their constituents, and most recently, the U.S. Supreme Court. A new paper by Molly Macauley examines the interstate conflicts that have grown as waste disposal has become an increasingly nationwide, high-tech industry.

Reflections on Three Decades of Energy Policy

Adapting to Climate Change: The Public Policy Response

The Political Economy of Environmental Justice

Poor people and minorities are more likely to live in neighborhoods at greater risk of environmental hazards. In a May 25 commentary, Spencer Banzhaf discusses public policy intervention on the grounds of environmental justice.

Let?s Turn CAFE Regulation on Its Head

Pricing Urban Congestion

Impacts of Land Certification on Tenure Security, Investment, and Land Markets: Evidence from Ethiopia

Lot Size, Zoning, and Household Preferences: Impediments to Smart Growth?

Where Things Stand with Hazardous Waste Regulation

In this week's commentary, Sarah Stafford discusses the current state of hazardous waste regulation.

A Symmetric Safety Valve

RFF scholars find that a cap-and-trade policy that includes a both a price floor and ceiling has significant advantages over a single-side ?safety valve? approach that features only a cap.

Is ISO 14001 a Gateway to More Advanced Voluntary Action? A Case for Green Supply Chain Management

Unintended Impacts of Multiple Instruments on Technology Adoption

Growing Complexities: A Cross-Sector Review of U.S. Biofuels Policies and Their Interactions

Has the Time Come for Truck-Only Toll Lanes?

In this week?s RFF Policy Commentary, Robin Lindsey assesses the benefits and challenges of creating truck-only toll lanes.

Market Arbitrage: European and North American Natural Gas Prices

The Impact of Urban Spatial Structure on Travel Demand in the United States

Why Have Traffic Fatalities Declined in Industrialised Countries? Implications for Pedestrians and Vehicle Occupants

Measuring the welfare effects of slum improvement programs: The case of Mumbai

Easing Clogged Traffic: Weighing the Options

In a paper assessing ways to break the logjam on urban roads across the nation, RFF Senior Fellow Ian Parry suggests that peak-hour congestion fees on cars and trucks could provide multiple benefits ? including shorter commuting times.

Obama Counters Bush on Auto Standards

Ian Parry comments on the merit of higher fuel efficiency standards versus a higher gas tax and his recent study is summarized.

McConnell on Marketplace

In a commentary aired December 15 on American Public Media?s Marketplace Radio, Senior Fellow Virginia McConnell?

suggests that raising taxes on gasoline would spur automakers to build greener cars ? and motivate potential buyers. ?Recently passed fuel economy standards are a step in the right direction, but high gas prices are essential. They provide incentives to manufacturers to produce the new generation of vehicles, and for consumers to buy them,? she said. ?The recent run-up in oil prices showed us what a powerful force the market can be in influencing purchase decisions and spurring innovation.?

Rural Livelihoods, Poverty, and the Millennium Development Goals

Pricing Urban Congestion

It Is Better to Be the Head of a Chicken than the Tail of a Phoenix? A Study of Concern for Relative Standing in Rural China

System Level Risk Analysis of New Merging and Spacing Protocols

The Emergence of Land Markets in Africa

This book is the first systematic attempt to address emerging land markets and their implications for poverty, equity, and efficiency across a number of African countries. The high incidence of poverty and the need for increased agricultural productivity remain acute in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, where a lack of secure land rights and a growing scarcity of land relative to the size of the population are becoming increasingly critical issues. Indeed, land issues in the region are high on the international policy agenda. Yet our knowledge about land tenure security and other rural factor markets (such as labor, oxen, manure, purchased inputs, and credit) is far from adequate to formulate sensible policies.

The case studies in the book show that, while land markets and especially informal markets have been rapidly emerging in densely populated parts of Africa?and have generally been to the benefit of the poor--their functions remain imperfect. This is due to policy-induced tenure insecurity and the fragmentation of agricultural land. Applying rigorous quantitative analyses, the book provides a basis for taking into account the role of land markets in national land policies. All too often, the authors argue, land policies have been extreme, either prohibiting all land transactions or giving unrestricted freehold rights to a small elite at the expense of the poor. From the long experience in Asia, it is known that such policies are detrimental to both production efficiency and equity of land use. The authors argue that future policies in Africa should work with the markets. Regulations should be imposed only with careful testing that they are having the intended effects.

The Emergence of Land Markets in Africa is a resource for teaching in developed and developing countries, as it provides both comprehensive reviews of the literature and detailed case studies. It is intended to facilitate the dialogue between researchers and policymakers, as well as inspire researchers to go further in their investigations and build an even stronger basis for good policies. The Emergence of Land Markets in Africa is the first publication in the new Environment for Development (EfD) book series. EfD books focus on research and applications in environmental and natural resource economics as they are relevant to poverty reduction and environmental problems in developing countries. The EfD book series is part of the EfD initiative.(www.environmentfordevelopment.org )

About the Environment for Development Initiative
The Environment for Development (EfD) initiative supports poverty alleviation and sustainable development through the increased use of environmental economics in the policymaking process. The EfD initiative is a capacity-building program focusing on research, policy advice, and teaching. The editor of the series is Thomas Sterner, Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Gothenberg.

The EfD is managed by the Environmental Economics Unit of the University of Gothenburg. Financial support is provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The six EfD centers in Central America, China, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and Tanzania are hosted by universities or academic institutions in each respective region or country. Resources for the Future and RFF Press are partners in EfD through research collaboration, communications support, and publications, including the EfD book series. (www.environmentfordevelopment.org)

Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond

Options Contracts for Contingent Takings

Comparing Price and Non-price Approaches to Urban Water Conservation

Economic Analysis of a Japanese Air Pollution Regulation: An Optimal Retirement Problem under Vehicle Type Regulation in the NOx? Particulate Matter Law

How Should Passenger Travel in Mexico City Be Priced?

Suburbia's Not Dead Yet

A 2004 RFF study on telecommuting is referenced in this article.

Environmentally Sustainable Human Space Activities: Can Challenges of Planetary Protection be Reconciled?

Automobile Externalities and Policies

Should Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards be Tightened?

The Supply of Space Infrastructure: Issues in the Theory and Practice of Estimating Costs

Should Urban Transit Subsidies Be Reduced?

How Should Heavy-Duty Trucks be Taxed?

Comparing Flexibility Mechanisms for Fuel Economy Standards

United States Civil Space Policy: Summary of a Workshop

What Works when it Comes to Planning for Smart Growth?

RFF Weekly Policy Commentary Series: Using the Price System to Reduce Airport Congestion?

Smart Growth @ 10: A Critical Examination of Maryland?s Landmark Land Use Program

Spatial Development and Energy Consumption

Marginal Social Cost Pricing on a Transportation Network: Comparison of Second-Best Policies

Social Capital and Institutions in Rural Kenya: Is Machakos Unique?

Washington START Transportation Model

The Trade-off between Private Lots and Public Open Space in Subdivisions at the Urban-Rural Fringe

Should Urban Transit Subsidies Be Reduced?

Fees in an Imperfect World: An Application to Motor Vehicle Emissions

Finding Policies that Work Best to Ease 'Social Cost' of Driving

In a new paper, RFF researchers evaluate a range of policies aimed at reducing traffic congestion, based on how well they address the full menu of societal damages from driving.

Finding the Right Drivers for Cleaner Cars: Controlling Automobile Air Pollution

Senior Fellows Virginia McConnell and Winston Harrington have chosen 26 articles that outline the most pressing economic issues in automobile pollution: including trends in vehicle use, the complex nature of regulation and the externalities of driving.

Congestion Research Highlighted in Washington Post

The July 22 issue of the Washington Post features RFF research on congestion fees in Washington, DC, and provides assessments of economic and commuter impact.

Modeling Growth for the Nation's Capital: A Work in Transit

This workshop introduces LUSTRE, an integrated model that simulates land use, transportation, and economic activity in the Washington, DC area.

Roads, Cars, and Dollars: Economic and Policy Issues in National Initiatives to Manage Traffic Congestion

The March 1st Wednesday Seminar panel discusses the state of research, policy, and politics surrounding congestion pricing in urban areas throughout the United States

Budgeting for Metro: A better approach

RFF researcher Elena Safirova comments in the Washington Business Journal about the potential unintended and unpleasant consequences of proposed Metro fare hikes.

What Drives Telecommuting?

RFF researchers Margaret Walls, Elena Safirova and Yi Jiang find significant differences between individuals who telecommute and those who do not.

Assessing China's Economic, Energy, and Resource Environment

This RFF Council briefing assesses the state of progress of the world's largest nation and analyzes its impact on the global economy.

Smart Growth at 10

Abstracts are due Oct. 30th for this conference on the 10-year anniversary of Maryland's Smart Growth and Neighborhood Conservation Initiative. The event is co-sponsored by RFF and the University of Maryland's Center for Smart Growth Research and Education.

Flying in the Face of Uncertainty

Senior Fellow Molly Macauley reflects on the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery.

What Do Developers Want?

A recent study on private investment in contaminated property by Fellow Kris Wernstedt, Peter B. Meyer of the University of Louisville, and Anna Alberini of the University of Maryland suggests that private developers place a very high value on relief from third party liability.

The Value of Open Space

RFF Scholars Virginia McConnell and Margaret Walls review ways to estimate the monetary value to community households of urban parks, wetlands, farms, and forests, based on surveys and property value studies.

Awarding Prizes for Space Innovation

Senior Fellow Molly Macauley examines the payoffs from prizes given for scientific advances--and assesses their feasibility for progress in space exploration.

Turning up the Heat on Traffic Gridlock

Provisions for HOT lanes in the current transportation bill are a welcome step in the right direction. But RFF Researchers Ian Parry and Elena Safirova suggest that lawmakers should do more to encourage road pricing at the local level.

Curbing Traffic Deaths in Developing Nations

Research Assistant Elizabeth Kopits and University Fellow Maureen Cropper contribute significantly to a new WHO/World Bank Report.

Transforming Our Perception of Fuel Economy: from MPG to Gallons per 100 Miles

Senior Fellow Carolyn Fischer makes the case for switching the nation?s fuel economy metric from miles per gallon to gallons per 100 miles in a new Issue Brief, arguing there is much to be gained from abandoning miles per gallon, including making CAFE credit trading simpler.