This paper argues that the sharing economy — through the use of the Internet and real time reputational feedback mechanisms — is providing a solution to the “lemons problem” that many regulations, and regulators, have spent decades attempting to overcome. Section I provides an overview...

Volumes have been written — both by courts and commentators — about the so-called independent agencies. These agencies are thought of as distinct from executive branch agencies and constitutionally insulated from presidential influence. Yet few have taken the time to ask even the most basic...

Success in international trade depends, amongst other things, on distance from markets. Most new economic geography models focus on the distance between countries. In contrast much less theorizing and empirical analysis have focused on how distances within a country for instance due to the...

This paper estimates Nash-type fiscal reaction functions for European governments competing for revenue from diesel excises. It appears that European governments strategically set their excise levels by responding to their neighbors’ tax rates. This provides evidence for the presence of tax...

This paper provides some elements to explain the observed takeover in some urban areas of a new kind of elite associated with new economy jobs, also known as "bourgeois bohème" (bobos). This takeover has been associated with greater investment in urban amenities and "clean" means of transport,...

In this study we have analysed policy interactions between an urban and a regional government which have different objectives (welfare of its own citizens) and two policy instruments (toll and capacity) available. Using a simulation model, we investigated the welfare consequences of the various...

We examine the effect of railway travel on urban spatial structure in a polycentric urban land use model. We focus on the role of access to the railway network. We find that if the number of train stations is limited, the degree of urbanization is higher around train stations, but the effect of...

This paper presents the new dynamic spatial general equilibrium (DSGE) model – RHOMOLO, which is built to support the EU policy design by undertaking holistic, micro-founded and disaggregated policy impact assessment. The RHOMOLO model is based on the theories of general equilibrium,...

The public economics, environmental, transportation and urban economics literature applies different labor supply approaches when studying economic or planning instruments. Some studies assume that working hours are endogenous while the number of workdays is given, whereas others model only...

Regular and irregular travel patterns coincide with different underlying purposes of travel and days of the week. Within this paper, it is shown that the balance between subsistence (i.e. work) and discretionary (i.e. leisure) activities is related to differences in travel patterns and explains...