Abstract
We develop and estimate a structural model of urban transportation to evaluate traffic-reducing policies in Paris. Individuals choose transportation mode and departure time subject to heterogeneous preferences, scheduling constraints, and congestion technologies that vary across city zones. We find that mode switching dominates temporal substitution, limiting concerns about trip rescheduling undermining the effectiveness of peak-hour interventions. All policies reduce consumer surplus, as speed gains never offset their costs, but toll-based instruments generate welfare gains through revenue redistribution. The per-kilometer toll achieves, on average, 77.5% of first-best welfare gains across stringency levels.
Keywords
structural model; policy evaluation, transportation; congestion, distributional effects; air pollution;
JEL codes
- L9: Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities
- R41: Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion • Safety and Accidents • Transportation Noise
- Q52: Pollution Control Adoption Costs • Distributional Effects • Employment Effects
Reference
Isis Durrmeyer, and Nicolas Martinez, “The Welfare Consequences of Urban Traffic Regulations”, TSE Working Paper, n. 22-1378, October 2022, revised June 2026.
See also
Published in
TSE Working Paper, n. 22-1378, October 2022, revised June 2026