A review of Beijing׳s vehicle registration lottery: Short-term effects on vehicle growth and fuel consumption

Abstract

Many cities worldwide have considered vehicle restriction policies to curb proliferating problems related to traffic and pollution. At the beginning of 2011, Beijing became the first city to allocate vehicle license plates using a lottery. We provide a background on Beijing׳s lottery and analyze its short-term effects. We find that growth in new vehicle registrations has been sharply curtailed. However, this policy may not reduce fuel consumption as much as expected.