An inexact science: Accounting for measurement error and downward bias in mode and location choice models

S. Donovan, Thomas de Graaff and Henri de Groot
Additional contact information
Thomas de Graaff: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

No 23-010/VIII, Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers from Tinbergen Institute

Abstract: Using commuting data for Brisbane, Australia, we find that accounting for measurement error in travel times causes the magnitude of parameters in mode and location choice models to increase approximately three-fold and 30–40%, respectively. Errors appear to be somewhat systematic, with travel times being underestimated for short journeys and vice versa for long journeys—especially by public transport. We find similar results when we use alternative transport cost measures and independent commuting data from London. Our findings are likely to have important implications for transport and land use policy as well as the many types of economic models in which travel times—and transport costs, more generally—occupy a central role.

Keywords: mode choice; location choice; travel times; measurement error; Australia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C13 R14 R41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-03-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dcm, nep-tre and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://papers.tinbergen.nl/23011.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tin:wpaper:20230011

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers from Tinbergen Institute Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Tinbergen Office +31 (0)10-4088900 ().