Nothing Special   »   [go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp14179.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Demand for Mobility: Evidence from an Experiment with Uber Riders

Author

Listed:
  • Christensen, Peter

    (University of Illinois)

  • Osman, Adam

    (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Abstract
Changes in transport costs can affect mobility in ways that differ across the population, affecting the impacts of transport policies. We randomly assign large price reductions on Uber in Egypt over a 3-month period and collect comprehensive data on participant mobility using Google Timeline. A 50% price reduction quadruples Uber usage and induces a 42% increase in total travel. Effects and welfare gains are larger for women, who are less mobile at baseline and perceive public transit as unsafe. The price elasticity of private vehicle kilometers traveled (-1.28) implies that mobility and external costs increase substantially when ride-hailing prices fall.

Suggested Citation

  • Christensen, Peter & Osman, Adam, 2021. "The Demand for Mobility: Evidence from an Experiment with Uber Riders," IZA Discussion Papers 14179, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14179
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp14179.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stephan Heblich & Stephen J Redding & Daniel M Sturm, 2020. "The Making of the Modern Metropolis: Evidence from London," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(4), pages 2059-2133.
    2. Nicholas Buchholz & Laura Doval & Jakub Kastl & Filip Matějka & Tobias Salz, 2020. "Personalized Pricing and the Value of Time: Evidence from Auctioned Cab Rides," NBER Working Papers 27087, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Stephen J. Redding & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2017. "Quantitative Spatial Economics," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 9(1), pages 21-58, September.
    4. L'industria, 2020. "Call for Papers," L'industria, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 4, pages 787-801.
    5. Laurence Levin & Matthew S. Lewis & Frank A. Wolak, 2017. "High Frequency Evidence on the Demand for Gasoline," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 314-347, August.
    6. Ariel Goldszmidt & John A. List & Robert D. Metcalfe & Ian Muir & V. Kerry Smith & Jenny Wang, 2020. "The Value of Time in the United States: Estimates from Nationwide Natural Field Experiments," NBER Working Papers 28208, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. J. Vernon Henderson & Matthew A. Turner, 2020. "Urbanization in the Developing World: Too Early or Too Slow?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 150-173, Summer.
    8. Edward L. Glaeser & Scott Duke Kominers & Michael Luca & Nikhil Naik, 2018. "Big Data And Big Cities: The Promises And Limitations Of Improved Measures Of Urban Life," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(1), pages 114-137, January.
    9. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Stephen J. Redding & Daniel M. Sturm & Nikolaus Wolf, 2015. "The Economics of Density: Evidence From the Berlin Wall," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 83, pages 2127-2189, November.
    10. Daniel Flores-Guri, 2003. "An Economic Analysis of Regulated Taxicab Markets," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 23(3_4), pages 255-266, December.
    11. Treb Allen & Costas Arkolakis, 2022. "The Welfare Effects of Transportation Infrastructure Improvements," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(6), pages 2911-2957.
    12. Gilles Duranton & Matthew A. Turner, 2011. "The Fundamental Law of Road Congestion: Evidence from US Cities," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(6), pages 2616-2652, October.
    13. Gonzalez-Navarro, Marco & Turner, Matthew A., 2018. "Subways and urban growth: Evidence from earth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 85-106.
    14. Ferdinando Monte & Stephen J. Redding & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2018. "Commuting, Migration, and Local Employment Elasticities," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(12), pages 3855-3890, December.
    15. Alexandre Belloni & Victor Chernozhukov & Christian Hansen, 2014. "Inference on Treatment Effects after Selection among High-Dimensional Controlsâ€," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 81(2), pages 608-650.
    16. Gharad Bryan & Shyamal Chowdhury & Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak, 2014. "Underinvestment in a Profitable Technology: The Case of Seasonal Migration in Bangladesh," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 82(5), pages 1671-1748, September.
    17. Kastl, Jakub & Buchholz, Nicholas & Doval, Laura & Matějka, Filip & Salz, Tobias, 2020. "The Value of Time: Evidence From Auctioned Cab Rides," CEPR Discussion Papers 14666, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    18. Pablo D. Fajgelbaum & Edouard Schaal, 2020. "Optimal Transport Networks in Spatial Equilibrium," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(4), pages 1411-1452, July.
    19. Fernando Alvarez & David Argente, 2022. "On the Effects of the Availability of Means of Payments: The Case of Uber," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 137(3), pages 1737-1789.
    20. Christopher Severen, 2023. "Commuting, Labor, and Housing Market Effects of Mass Transportation: Welfare and Identification," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(5), pages 1073-1091, September.
    21. Gupta, Arpit & Van Nieuwerburgh, Stijn & Kontokosta, Constantine, 2022. "Take the Q train: Value capture of public infrastructure projects," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    22. Train,Kenneth E., 2009. "Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521766555, October.
    23. Kenneth A. Small & Clifford Winston & Jia Yan, 2005. "Uncovering the Distribution of Motorists' Preferences for Travel Time and Reliability," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 73(4), pages 1367-1382, July.
    24. Nathaniel Baum-Snow & Loren Brandt & J. Vernon Henderson & Matthew A. Turner & Qinghua Zhang, 2017. "Roads, Railroads, and Decentralization of Chinese Cities," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(3), pages 435-448, July.
    25. Klaus Desmet & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2013. "Urban Accounting and Welfare," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2296-2327, October.
    26. McKenzie, David, 2012. "Beyond baseline and follow-up: The case for more T in experiments," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 210-221.
    27. Hall, Jonathan D. & Palsson, Craig & Price, Joseph, 2018. "Is Uber a substitute or complement for public transit?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 36-50.
    28. Kondylis,Florence & Legovini,Arianna & Vyborny,Kate & Zwager,Astrid Maria Theresia & Cardoso De Andrade,Luiza, 2020. "Demand for Safe Spaces : Avoiding Harassment and Stigma," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9269, The World Bank.
    29. Phillips, David C., 2014. "Getting to work: Experimental evidence on job search and transportation costs," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 72-82.
    30. Seema Jayachandran, 2021. "Social Norms as a Barrier to Women’s Employment in Developing Countries," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 69(3), pages 576-595, September.
    31. Michael L. Anderson, 2014. "Subways, Strikes, and Slowdowns: The Impacts of Public Transit on Traffic Congestion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(9), pages 2763-2796, September.
    32. John Rose & David Hensher, 2014. "Demand for taxi services: new elasticity evidence," Transportation, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 717-743, July.
    33. Gandelman, Néstor & Serebrisky, Tomás & Suárez-Alemán, Ancor, 2019. "Household spending on transport in Latin America and the Caribbean: A dimension of transport affordability in the region," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-1.
    34. Simon Franklin, 2018. "Location, Search Costs and Youth Unemployment: Experimental Evidence from Transport Subsidies," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(614), pages 2353-2379, September.
    35. Marc F. Bellemare & Casey J. Wichman, 2020. "Elasticities and the Inverse Hyperbolic Sine Transformation," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 82(1), pages 50-61, February.
    36. L'industria, 2020. "Call for papers," L'industria, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 1, pages 173-187.
    37. Manuel Frondel & Colin Vance, 2009. "Do High Oil Prices Matter? Evidence on the Mobility Behavior of German Households," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 43(1), pages 81-94, May.
    38. Gharad Bryan & Edward Glaeser & Nick Tsivanidis, 2019. "Cities in the Developing World," NBER Working Papers 26390, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    39. Nathaniel Baum-Snow, 2007. "Did Highways Cause Suburbanization?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(2), pages 775-805.
    40. L'industria, 2020. "Call for papers," L'industria, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 2, pages 367-370.
    41. Asher,Samuel Edward & Novosad,Paul Michael, 2018. "Rural roads and local economic development," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8466, The World Bank.
    42. Peter Cohen & Robert Hahn & Jonathan Hall & Steven Levitt & Robert Metcalfe, 2016. "Using Big Data to Estimate Consumer Surplus: The Case of Uber," NBER Working Papers 22627, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Adam Osman & Jamin D. Speer, 2024. "Stigma and take‐up of labour market assistance: Evidence from two field experiments," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 91(361), pages 123-141, January.
    2. Christensen, Peter & Osman, Adam & Stocker, Abigail, 2024. "Weathering the ride: Experimental evidence on transport pricing, climate extremes, and future travel demand," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    3. Feld, Brian & Nagy, AbdelRahman & Osman, Adam, 2022. "What do jobseekers want? Comparing methods to estimate reservation wages and the value of job attributes," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    4. Li, Shanjun & Wang, Binglin & Zhou, Hui, 2024. "Decarbonizing passenger transportation in developing countries: Lessons and perspectives1," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    5. Osman, Adam & Speer, Jamin D., 2023. "Stigma and Take-up of Labor Market Assistance: Evidence from Two Field Experiments," IZA Discussion Papers 16599, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Redding, Stephen & Nakajima, Kentaro & Miyauchi, Yuhei, 2021. "Consumption access and agglomeration: evidence from smartphone data," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 114353, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Stephan Heblich & Stephen J Redding & Daniel M Sturm, 2020. "The Making of the Modern Metropolis: Evidence from London," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(4), pages 2059-2133.
    3. Redding, Stephen, 2020. "Trade and Geography," CEPR Discussion Papers 15268, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Tobias Pfutze & Carlos Rodríguez-Castelán & Daniel Valderrama, 2023. "Urban transport infrastructure and household welfare: evidence from Colombia," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 65(3), pages 1409-1432, September.
    5. Buchholz, Nicholas & Doval, Laura & Kastl, Jakub & Matejka, Filip & Salz, Tobias, 2020. "The Value of Time: Evidence From Auctioned Cab Rides," CEPR Discussion Papers 14666, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Redding, Stephen, 2021. "Suburbanization in the United States 1970-2010," CEPR Discussion Papers 16174, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Durrmeyer, Isis & Martinez, Nicolas, 2022. "The Welfare Consequences of Urban Traffic Regulations," TSE Working Papers 22-1378, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    8. Gal Amedi, 2023. "The Determinants of the Transit Accessibility Premium," Bank of Israel Working Papers 2023.12, Bank of Israel.
    9. Kastl, Jakub & Buchholz, Nicholas & Doval, Laura & Matějka, Filip & Salz, Tobias, 2020. "The Value of Time: Evidence From Auctioned Cab Rides," CEPR Discussion Papers 14666, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Gilles Duranton & Geetika Nagpal & Matthew A. Turner, 2020. "Transportation Infrastructure in the US," NBER Chapters, in: Economic Analysis and Infrastructure Investment, pages 165-210, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Borck, Rainald & Mulder, Peter, 2024. "Energy policies and pollution in two developing country cities: A quantitative model," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    12. Dávid Krisztián Nagy, 2021. "Quantitative Economic Geography Meets History: Questions, Answers and Challenges," Working Papers 1249, Barcelona School of Economics.
    13. Santamaria, Marta, 2020. "Reshaping Infrastructure: Evidence from the division of Germany," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1244, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    14. Hanlon, W.Walker & Heblich, Stephan, 2022. "History and urban economics," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    15. Borck, Rainald, 2019. "Public transport and urban pollution," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 356-366.
    16. Ariel Goldszmidt & John A. List & Robert D. Metcalfe & Ian Muir & V. Kerry Smith & Jenny Wang, 2020. "The Value of Time in the United States: Estimates from Nationwide Natural Field Experiments," Working Papers 2020-179, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    17. Santamaria, Marta, 2020. "Reshaping Infrastructure : Evidence from the division of Germany," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 456, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    18. Wichman, Casey J. & Cunningham, Brandon, 2023. "Notching for free: Do cyclists reveal the opportunity cost of time?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    19. David Krisztián Nagy, 2020. "Quantitative economic geography meets history: Questions, answers and challenges," Economics Working Papers 1774, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Mar 2021.
    20. Nagy, Dávid Krisztián, 2022. "Quantitative economic geography meets history: Questions, answers and challenges," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    mobility on demand; ride-hailing; travel safety; travel demand;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14179. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.