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Economic Thinking on the Road (or Thereabouts)

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Abstract

We spend a large portion of our lives moving from point to point. Indeed, mobility is a necessary condition for our modern economic progress. In a series of short, accessible essays, this chapter discusses some of the current economic issues surrounding how we do so. Topics covered include price discrimination on city buses, the safety implications of a car’s retail price, factors determining whether a person will receive a traffic citation given that they have been stopped by an officer, and the difficulties associated with ensuring safer travel for infants. Through these essays, we gain a deeper understanding of how we get around, as well as the larger economic implications of our travels.

We spend a large portion of our lives moving from point to point. In a series of short, accessible essays, this chapter discusses some of the current economic issues surrounding how we do so.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Boston was excluded due to its size and the relatively disconnected nature of its police force.

  2. 2.

    This calculation assumes that Semi 1 has only one opportunity to move into the left lane during the minute of interest.

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Sanders, S. (2020). Economic Thinking on the Road (or Thereabouts). In: The Economic Reason. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56043-0_1

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