The Distributional Effects Of A Congestion Tax Based On Mileage

With the development of economy and the acceleration of urbanization process,peak-hour traffic congestion is a general condition in Chinese large or medium-sized cities,such as Beijing.Road congestion has also become an urgent problem to be solved for cities' sustainable development.As one of the most direct and effective means,congestion pricing,rarely implemented or promoted by cities,is still in the stage of policy making or learning research.There are two reasons.On the one hand,congestion charge is easily opposed and thus shelved.Public attitude will affect the policy orientation.On the other hand,the effects of congestion charge depend on the fairness and rationality of charging strategy to some extent.In the actual situation,there are always differences among commuters,such as their age,income level,travel time,travel distance and other individual or behavioral characteristics,indicating congestion fee is directly related to commuters' interests.And the congestion charge theory needs to be improved and perfected.This paper focuses on a congestion tax based on mileage,a way of congestion charge.Taking Beijing as an example,we assume that the government implement the congestion tax policy.We conduct an empirical study to make a predictive analysis about the distributional effect of the congestion tax.First,based on the theoretical research and practical experience of congestion charge and its effects,in the situation of a hypothetical per-kilometer congestion tax in Beijing,we obtain the data needed through empirical investigation,such as residents' commuting behavior and individual characteristics.Afterwards,we summarize the data and make descriptive statistics.A multiple regression model is established to further explore the commuting mileage characteristics of car drivers.Finally,based on the empirical data,the suit index was calculated to analyze the congestion tax progressivity in terms of income level,and city space,then we can conclude the distributional effects of the tax.We find a congestion tax based on mileage has positive effects on income distribution in Beijing city by narrowing income gap.But it will harm the interests of rural residents.That is to say,the tax is progressive in terms of the income distribution and regressive in spatial distribution.And the lower-income group,the rural residents tend to travel longer compared to their counterparts,which means more congestion fee.We also put forwards suggestions about the congestion tax and other comprehensive measures in Beijing in the future.Theoretically,this study is significant for making congestion charging policy in Chinese cities.