Abstract
Regional variations in car ownership have recently been subjected to a number of studies. This short paper extends this work by using much more recent data sources to see if previously observed trends in Great Brtain have continued into the 1970s. In addition, a number of simple econometric models of cross sectional variations in ownership are explored which test a wide variety of hypotheses concerning causal linkages between car ownership and several explanatory variables. The range of variables used is larger than that employed in most of the recent work in the field.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J. J. Bates, H. Gunn and M. Roberts,A Disaggregate Model of Household Car Ownership. Depts. of the Environment and Transport, Research Report 20 (HMSO London) (1978).
British Institute of Management Foundation, “Business cars: a survey of current practice in 471 organisations,”Management Survey Report No. 44 (B.I.M., London), (1979).
L. D. Burns, T. F. Golob and G. C. Nicolaidis, “Theory of urban household automobile-ownership decisions,”Transportation Research Record No. 569 (1975), pp. 56–75.
K. J. Button and A. D. Pearman, “The theory and practice of car ownership forecasting,” in E. J. Visser (ed.);Transport Decisions in the Age of Uncertainty (Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague) (1978), pp. 137–144.
K. J. Button, A. S. Fowkes and A. D. Pearman, “Some outstanding problems in the causal modelling of car ownership at the local level,”Transportation Planning and Technology (1979), pp. 205–213.
M. J. Buxton and D. G. Rhys, “The demand for car ownership: a note,”Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 19 (1972).
S. T. Divey,Regional and National Convergence to Common Car Ownership Levels, Transport and Road Research Laboratory Supplementary Report 463 (H.M.S.O., London) (1979).
F. Fishwick, “The influence of economic factors on car ownership in Great Britain,” inUrban Traffic Model Research (P.T.R.C. London) (1972).
A. S. Fowkes, A. D. Pearman and K. J. Button, “An appraisal of aggregate and disaggregate car ownership forecasting methods,”I.T.S. Working Paper 110 (University of Leeds, Leeds) (1979).
I. G. Heggie, “Economics and the road programme,” Journalof Transport Economics and Policy, Vol. 13 (1979), pp. 52–67.
C. McCarthy, “The determinants of regional variations in private car ownership: some evidence from Irish data,”Annals of Regional Science, Vol. 12 (1978), pp. 14–23.
M. J. H. Mogridge, “Predictions of car ownership,”Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, Vol. 1 (1967), pp. 52–73.
M. J. H. Mogridge, “A personal view on the future of the car,”Traffic Engineering & Control, Vol. 17 (1976), pp. 101–104, 115.
D. J. Parish, “Car ownership forecasting in category analysis--a pitfall,” inUrban Traffic Models (P.T.R.C., London) 1975, pp. 214–224.
A. D. Pearman & K. J. Button, “Regional variations in car ownership,”Applied Economics, Vol. 8 (1976), pp. 231–233.
D. G. Rhys & M. J. Buxton, “Car ownership and the rural transport problem,”Transport, Vol. 36 (1974), pp. 109–113.
A. K. Sanghi, “The relationship between population density, automobile ownership and automobile use: its role in transportation planning,”Annals of Regional Science, Vol. 9, 1975, pp. 118–127.
J. F. Sleeman, “The geographical distribution of road vehicles,”Accountants Magazine (1958), pp. 524–530.
J. F. Sleeman, “The geographical distribution of motor cars in Britain,”Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 8, (1961), pp. 71–81.
J. F. Sleeman, “A new look at the distribution of private cars in Britain,”Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 16 (1969), pp. 306–318.
J. C. Tanner, “Cars and motorcycle ownership in the counties of Great Britain in 1960,”Journal of the Royal Statistical Society (Series A), Vol. 126 (1963), pp. 276–284.
J. C. Tanner, “Long-term forecasting of vehicle ownership road traffic,”Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A, Vol. 141 (1978), pp. 14–63.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The author would like to thank Alan Pearman for useful comments on an earlier draft of this paper, although he bears no responsibility for remaining errors. The work forms part of a much larger study of car ownership modelling at the local level financed by the Social Science Research Council.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Button, K.J. The geographical distribution of car ownership in Great Britain—Some recent trends. Ann Reg Sci 14, 23–38 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01284201
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01284201