 Instability and dynamic cost elasticities in freight transport systemsPaolo Ferrari Transport Policy, 2016, vol. 49, issue C, 226-233 Abstract: The paper studies two properties of freight transport systems with dynamic cost functions. The first property is that the dynamic cost functions can give rise to situations in which the transport system is unstable. This property has a number of consequences. One of them – important from a practical point of view – is that, if a transport mode implements a plan of improvements of its characteristics in order to stop the decline of the proportion of freight flow it carries, there is a time threshold to start the improvements, beyond which the plan is unsuccessful. The other property is that the dynamic cost functions give rise to cost elasticities that vary over time, with asymptotic values that tend to zero as transport cost decreases. This means that, if one implements successive improvements of the characteristics of a transport mode, their effects diminish progressively. Keywords: Freight transport; Dynamic cost functions; Fixed points; Freight transport instability; Dynamic cost elasticities (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:trapol:v:49:y:2016:i:c:p:226-233 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2016.05.008 Access Statistics for this article Transport Policy is currently edited by Y. Hayashi More articles in Transport Policy from Elsevier |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.