Vehicle Ownership Decisions Research Articles

Analysis of Variations in Vehicle Ownership Expenditures

There is significant concern about the high cost of vehicle ownership, although several authors have acknowledged in the literature that owning and operating a vehicle have accessibility benefits. This paper uses Consumer Expenditure Survey data to explore vehicle ownership expenditures of American households. Differences in vehicle ownership expenditures among urban and rural households are estimated in different regions of the United States, controlling for socioeconomic, demographic, life cycle, and other household factors. First, patterns in vehicle ownership expenses are examined over a year. Three models of expenditures for vehicle ownership are estimated: the first model is estimated by ordinary least squares, the second is a Tobit model estimated to take into account zero expenditures on vehicles by a segment of households during the survey year, and the third model is a two-stage sample selection model that explicitly models first the household vehicle ownership decision and then, given that firs...

Analysis of Variations in Vehicle Ownership Expenditures

There is significant concern about the high cost of vehicle ownership, although several authors have acknowledged in the literature that owning and operating a vehicle have accessibility benefits. This paper uses Consumer Expenditure Survey data to explore vehicle ownership expenditures of American households. Differences in vehicle ownership expenditures among urban and rural households are estimated in different regions of the United States, controlling for socioeconomic, demographic, life cycle, and other household factors. First, patterns in vehicle ownership expenses are examined over a year. Three models of expenditures for vehicle ownership are estimated: the first model is estimated by ordinary least squares, the second is a Tobit model estimated to take into account zero expenditures on vehicles by a segment of households during the survey year, and the third model is a two-stage sample selection model that explicitly models first the household vehicle ownership decision and then, given that first decision, the expenditure intensity decision for the subsample of households that own vehicles. It was found that locational and regional effects were not constant but that urban–rural differences depended on region, and differences among regions depended on whether a household was located in an urban or a rural area.

Vehicle Ownership Model That Incorporates the Causal Structure Underlying Attitudes Toward Vehicle Ownership

Household vehicle ownership behavior is governed not only by economic considerations but also by psychological and sociological factors. The latter factors are expected to play important roles in early stages of motorization. Previous disaggregate models of household vehicle ownership behavior, however, have been developed mostly for countries with mature motorization and most often have included only economic factors as explanatory variables that determine the utility of a household vehicle. These models are limited as models of vehicle ownership behavior in earlier stages of motorization if psychological and sociological factors are, in fact, significant determinants of household vehicle ownership decisions. The concept of symbolic utility of vehicle ownership, which refers to psychological satisfaction from owning and using a vehicle, is considered. Based on analyses of the causal structure among attitudes toward vehicle ownership, a vehicle ownership model system is developed. The results suggest that attitudes toward vehicle ownership have effects on vehicle ownership preference, and the accuracy of vehicle ownership choice models can be improved by taking symbolic utility into consideration. The results of the model estimation also indicate the presence of cognitive dissonance of nonowner households and “Veblen effects” of vehicle ownership.

Analysis of equilibrium automobile holdings in Israel with aggregate discrete choice models

Models of household vehicle ownership decisions do not suffice as a basis for forecasting the size and composition of aggregate vehicle holdings. Forecasting applications require that such models be imbedded in systems describing the operation of the automobile market. This paper presents a new model of short run equilibrium in the automobile market. The short run is a period within which new car designs and prices are fixed but used car prices adjust competitively to market forces. The magnitude and mix of new car sales, the extent of used car scrappage and the composition of used car holdings are determined in equilibrium with used car prices. An econometric version of the market model has been estimated on Israeli data and applied to analyze the impact of vehicle tax policy on automobile holdings in Israel. The paper describes this application.