Effects of a mileage tax for trucks

Simon Luechinger and Florian Roth

Journal of Urban Economics, 2016, vol. 92, issue C, 1-15

Abstract: We evaluate the effect of the introduction of a mileage tax for trucks in Switzerland in 2001 on traffic volume and externalities. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find a reduction in overall truck traffic of around 4–6%, no effects on car traffic and time-shifted placebos, suggestive evidence for traffic substitution toward rail, and negative effects on nitrogen oxides at curbside monitors. Complementary estimates on the effects of the German mileage tax and complementary estimates based on the synthetic control method are broadly consistent with our main results, although the latter are not statistically significant. Depending on prevailing levels of transportation costs, mileage tax-induced transportation cost increases may accelerate or reverse spatial economic concentration processes. Such implications for economic geography featured prominently in Switzerland and are a promising area for future research.

Keywords: Mileage tax; Heavy vehicle fee; Regression discontinuity design; Synthetic control method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H23 Q53 R41 R48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094119015000637
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

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:eee:juecon:v:92:y:2016:i:c:p:1-15

DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2015.09.005

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Urban Economics is currently edited by S.S. Rosenthal and W.C. Strange

More articles in Journal of Urban Economics from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().