The next speaker in the EEU seminar series is Chandra Krishnamurthy. Chandra is an Associate Professor at the Department of Forest Economics at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Umeå, and his research encompasses broad areas of environmental and resource economics. You can read more about Chandra's research on his website.
On Monday, Chandra will present a working paper about the effects of ride-hailing services on traffic congestion and air pollution in California. You can find the working paper attached and the abstract below.
Chandra will be staying at the department until Tuesday afternoon and is happy to meet anyone during his stay. You are strongly encouraged to contact him for a meeting (chandra.kiran@slu.se).
Seminar details:
Speaker: Chandra Krishnamurthy
Topic: Do ride-hailing services worsen freeway congestion and air quality? Evidence from Uber in California
When: Monday, April 4th at 12:05–13:00
Where: Malmstensvåningen (Matsalen) and Zoom:
https://gu-se.zoom.us/j/69603064530?pwd=MXdaY0xrOTRhdk5iczFZL2JrZy9BUT09
Abstract
We investigate the effects of Uber on freeway traffic and pollution in California. We use a panel difference-in-differences design and exploit variation in Uber's entry into different counties using hourly freeway traffic data and daily pollution data between 2009 and 2015. We find reductions in weekday freeway congestion and PM2.5 concentration in the average county entered. However, this reduction occurs at off-peak times and in less populated counties, with congestion and pollution worsening during the evening rush hour and in the most populated counties. Further, we provide evidence that access to public transit mediates the effect of Uber on congestion.
