The Stockholm congestion charging trial in 2006 demonstrated the effects of a full-scale time-differentiated urban road toll scheme. Improvements in travel times were large enough to be perceived by the general public. This was pivotal to the radical change of public attitudes that occurred during the trial and that resulted in a positive outcome of a subsequent referendum on a proposal for making the system permanent. This paper summarises the effects of the trial and analyses to what extent targets were met. Effects on congestion reduction were larger than anticipated, which also resulted in favourable economic and environmental effects. The trial showed that a single-cordon toll could affect traffic within a large area, i.e., not just close to the zone limits.
This report compiles the results from the project Theme Environmental risks. More specifically, the project concerned how different transport related environmental risks influence different road users and how their behaviour influence the environment. The project aimed at preparing for interdisciplinary research about environmental risks at VTI. The project was divided into three parts. The first subproject aimed at compiling literature about transport related environmental risks from psychological and economic perspectives, and in the second subproject a willingness to pay study was outlined where both economic and psychological principles were considered. In the third subproject, a simulator study was outlined. The focus was to study environmental effects of driving under controlled circumstances in the driving simulator. The report is divided into two parts. In part 1, the results from the literature review and the proposal for a willingness to pay study are described (subproject 1 and 2). This part is written in English. Part 2 contains a project outline for a simulator study in the form of an research project application (project 3). This part is written in Swedish.
Transportstyrelsen genomför konsekvensutredningar bland annat avseende förslag till förändringar i föreskrifter, framställan till regelförändringar och som en del i regeringsuppdrag. Myndigheten har under senare år identifierat ett behov av att vidga innehållet i konsekvensutredningarna för att kunna bedöma om nya och förändrade regleringar bidrar till en transport-försörjning som är samhällsekonomiskt effektiv. Ett utvecklingsarbete har pågått sedan myndigheten bildades 2009.
Inom ramen för ett pågående forskningsprojekt genomfört av Centrum för Transportstudier (CTS) – Samhällsekonomisk analys av regleringar – studeras effekterna av de förändringar som genomförts. Syftet är att analysera de problem som uppkommer i det praktiska arbetet med genomförandet av konsekvensanalyser av samhällsekonomisk effektivitet och att, baserat på resultaten, utveckla en mer generell metodik för hur arbetet ska genomföras och vad som bör ingå i den samhällsekonomiska analysen.
This report is commissioned by the Swedish Civil Aviation Authority. The aim is to update the knowledge regarding the price relevant costs of aviation. We distinguish between marginal costs caused by airport activities and those caused by the external effects of pollution and noise. The review shows that vital data is missing regarding the activities and effects of aviation in order to perform solid marginal cost calculations. In the report we have calculated approximative values for two types of airplanes. Marginal costs related to airport services are divided into those related to passenger services and those related to congestion services. We conclude that the Swedish charges are at least twice as high as marginal costs. We do, however, lack any estimation of the congestion-related marginal costs. Regarding the external effects, today's charges concerning the landing and take-off cycle are sufficient although partly mischarged since they only reflect NOx-emissions. Moreover it should be examined if emissions during flying should be charged or not. The conclusion of this report is that more research is needed in this area. This concerns studies dealing with Swedish airports as well as making cost data publicly available.
International organisations, such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Union (EU), are seeking to implement a cohesive Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) system in order to achieve better regulation and increased unity and transparency. Central to these evaluations is the use of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and related tools. A comprehensive analysis of the use of impact assessment in the EU shows that many assessments lack important economic components. This paper draws on an extensive document study of the Swedish policy making process related to the EU Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. The aim of the paper is to examine how CBA is presented, negotiated and accounted for by central actors within a policy setting influenced by negotiation and policy coordination. The paper departs from a theoretical perspective on policy coordination and shows how this factor must be considered when explaining the low use of CBA. It concludes that the Swedish policy tradition, wherein the national government relies on consensus-based coordination between agencies, might counteract a more explicit assessment of different policy options. The paper also proposes a model that can be used for further studies on CBA and policy coordination.
Social scientists regularly criticize the use of cost-benefit analysis (CBA), which has led to much focus being placed on investigating the possible biases related to its results. Recent research shows that CBA is not routinely done prior to environmental, energy, and climate policymaking in Sweden, and in countries where a CBA is made, the results have little influence on political decisions. This paper investigates obstacles to using CBA information with a focus on bureaucrats. We use empirical data from Sweden, where the ministries are small by international standards and hence government agencies have a sizeable influence on policymaking. We construct a theoretical model and then test the theoretical predictions with empirical data collected from five Swedish government agencies. The empirical results lend support both for the assertion that risk aversion concerning the environmental outcome, the bureaucrats’ environmental attitudes, and the cost of taking CBA information into account have a considerable impact on the probability of using information from a CBA. Hence risk averse and bureaucrats with strong environmental preferences are less likely and bureaucrats with low cost of doing a CBA more likely than other bureaucrats to use CBA information. Finally, a binding governmental budget constraint may positively influence a bureaucrat’s choice of undertaking a CBA. A tentative conclusion is therefore that it may be possible to increase the use of CBA by making the budgetary consequences of policies much clearer and demanding due consideration of costs.
Civil servants in governmental agencies regularly both propose environmental policies for the elected politicians and make own decisions. In making these decisions they may be influenced by legal norms, agency policy and culture, professional norms acquired through education as well as personal political preferences. This study tests how students in late stages of professional training in economics, biology and social sciences handle information in order to make a stylized choice of a national nutrient limit for lake water, or choose a program at a municipal level to lower the nutrient level in a local lake. The purpose is to test whether professional norms acquired during academic education and/or the presence of an international standard influences decision-making. We examine three hypotheses. Firstly, students’ political attitudes affect their choice of major, i.e. biology, economics or social sciences, and thereby indirectly their decisions. We find that the distribution of the political values among disciplines is compatible with the hypothesis, which therefore is not rejected. Secondly, a student’s major influences the kind of information they use and consequently the policy choice they will recommend. In plain words we expected biology students to go for environmentally more ambitious (lower) nutrient limits and economics students to prefer economically efficient (higher) levels. The central result is that while economics majors are more likely than biology or social science majors to choose a cost-efficient nutrient limit, the mean and median values of the nutrient levels chosen by the three groups do not differ from one another in a statistically significant way. Economists thus have a higher standard deviation in their answers than the other majors. The third hypothesis is that the presence of an internationally approved standard level for the nutrient content will significantly influence the choice of national nutrient limit. We find that biology students are influenced to set a lower nutrient limit when presented with the standard than otherwise, thereby rejecting the null hypothesis for this group. For students in economics and social sciences, no significant effect is found. Our results have implications for the feasibility of micromanagement in government agencies as recruiting economists to environmental agencies may not be sufficient to ensure economically efficient decisions. The findings also should sound a warning about the skills learned by economics majors at the two largest universities in Sweden: while some students seem familiar with the concepts of optimality and cost efficiency and able to use them, this applies to far from all of them.
Transport is an area where the public sector plays an important role for the design and the functioning of the system. In Sweden the overriding goal for transport policy is to ensure the economically efficient and sustainable provision of transport services for people and businesses throughout the country. When making changes to the system there is a need for information on the advantages and disadvantages of different policy options so that the decisions are based on balanced evidence. To meet these ends, the methodology of cost-benefit analysis is applied as a decision support tool, especially regarding decision related to infrastructure investment. The Swedish Transport Administration and the Swedish Transport Agency have the main responsibility for the design and functioning of the transport system in Sweden. The former is responsible for the infrastructure while the latter is more concerned with the management of traffic and the design of rules and regulations. The Swedish Transport Agency also exercises supervision. In 2012 the Swedish Transport Agency commissioned VTI to develop a first version of a calculation handbook to be used in the impact assessments performed by the Agency, together with a plan for education on how to perform this type of assessment. Our proposition is presented in this report. Based on a number of case studies of impact assessment recently performed at the Agency we have assessed what kind of information that needs to be included in their impact assessments. We have also investigated which methods are used internationally, and by the Swedish Transport Administration, to perform this type of analysis. Using this information we present a draft for a calculation handbook based on the experience and material used at the Swedish Transport Administration. We also present an education plan. However, since there is a difference between issues related to investments in infrastructure and management issues, we also suggest a plan for development of the calculation handbook and its use within the Agency.
The purpose is to provide a background for a discussion concerning the methods and values used in cost-benefit analysis in Sweden for air pollutions', from traffic, impact on human health and the research needs in this area. We provide an overview of the current state of the art of models used for and input needed for external cost calculations of the health impacts. The calculations are not straightforward and depend on the collaboration between several research disciplines. In the ExternE projects, which have been used as a reference point in this study, there are still uncertainties concerning which pollutants to take into consideration. Regarding the health impacts, we have recapitulated some of the main conclusions in a review by the American Heart Association (2010). They state that e.g. the following issues need further research: the importance of ultrafine particles, what constituent parts make traffic related air pollution more harmful than PM2.5 in general and the importance of coarse particles.
In this paper we discuss, based on research on the external cost of air pollution, if diesel as a fuel in the transport sector should be encouraged or discouraged in Swedish environmental policy. There are two main reasons for posing this question. The first is the international context where the use of diesel is generally considered to be a bad, due to its negative health effects. The second is the Swedish context with an ambitious vision for a fossil free vehicle fleet in 2030 where the use of diesel produced from forestry residues could be part of the solution. In recent years the use of diesel cars has been encouraged by various policy measures, for example a subsidy based on assessments of emissions for CO2 per kilometer. Is this a policy that should be continued or abandoned? In this paper we focus on the health impacts and our conclusion is that dieselization is more a blessing than a curse. The reason is that Sweden is a sparsely populated country and therefore the health costs of emissions from road transport are low by international standards.
This report presents the basis and calculations for the subproject air pollution carried out within the framework of VTI’s second government commission on traffic economic costs (Samkost2). In this study, we have estimated marginal external costs of air pollution with the method developed and used in the EU for this purpose, the so-called “Impact Pathway Approach”, focusing on the importance and the impact on the ecosystem and emissions from shipping.
In the earlier study of air pollution in Samkost was concluded that a largely unexplored question was how much the transport sector contributes to secondary pollution and the impact these have on population exposure and impact on the ecosystem. It was found that this is an important issue because it is these pollutants that are the focus of the EU’s air quality policy. To carry out impact assessments of the proposals at EU level in this field, and to compare the results of different studies, it is important to clarify the pollution that has been the basis for the analysis.
For this reason, the focus of Samkost2 on air pollution became how to perform calculations for the secondary pollutants. There was also a desire to gain more knowledge about the marginal costs of emissions from Swedish shipping, and on how impacts on ecosystems can be included in these calculations. To carry out these calculations required information in the form of dispersion modelling. Therefore, SMHI was commissioned to provide data on emissions at sea and their dispersion. Due to time constraints, since this VTI’s commission had a deadline and dispersion modelling involves complex calculation that requires time, the calculations got adapted to the restrictions of the commission. Only emissions from Swedish shipping and not from the other modes were included. To get some information about geographical differences in the impact of emissions that occur in different places separate calculations for three different areas was conducted; Skagerrak and Kattegat, the Baltic Sea south of Åland and the Baltic Sea north of the Åland Islands. Specific effects, i.e. exposure, were only modelled for the population and not for different types of ecosystems.
Road traffic makes important contributions to the pollution levels in urban areas. Of the pollutants, particulate matter, makes the greatest contribution to the external cost due to their detrimental impact on human health. Economic policy measures such as road pricing can be used for the regulation of traffic, thereby improving local air quality, but there is often a large resistance towards these types of measures. The purpose of this study has been to investigate if it is likely that the health impact of traffic emissions influences the acceptance for road pricing. In this study we have done a literature survey to explore this issue. The conclusion is that it is unlikely that the health impact influences the acceptance. An important reason is that the public knowledge about this health impact is low and therefore the health risks are underestimated. We have also found that there is a need for deeper investigation into people´s knowledge about traffic emissions and their health impact and how this in turn influences their decisions regarding policy measures, such as road pricing that aims at reducing the health impact. The conclusion is that the best method for this would be a so-called Stated Preference study.
The Swedish government, despite a possible value conflict with the ambitious Swedish climate mitigation objectives, has stated that tourism development is an important basis for economic growth, not least in rural areas. This paper explores how the Swedish policy making system, and ambitious environmental and traffic safety objectives, influence transport investment planning at the regional level. Our point of reference for evaluating the system is the work with good regulatory policy advocated by the OECD and used by the EU. The main finding is that the Swedish government and parliament lack a strategic “whole-of-government approach” to sustainable transport development. There are many principles and objectives with good intentions established at the national level that are incompatible in practice. The conflicts that follow are handed down to lower government levels to solve with best wishes. The problem with this type of management is the “tragedy of the commons.” Without clear guidance, individuals (and administrations) acting independently and rationally based on self-interests are likely to behave contrary to the best interests of the whole group (society).
Making choices based on a more holistic assessment of impacts and benefits and costs could help to prevent this kind of outcome. However, from the data collected it appears that many investments are undertaken without being assessed due to the lack of government instructions on regulatory impact assessment. Other investments are undertaken despite having a negative net benefit. One reason for this is specific instructions given by the government that points to certain investments. Another reason seems to be the Vision Zero policy established by the parliament. In recent years this policy has been a strong driver of improvements of the road system. Seen from an environmental perspective, the unwanted consequence of the priorities made is that state roads become faster and safer and thereby a more attractive alternative to other travel modes. Seen from a regional development and tourism perspective, this may have diverted resources away from investments that would have yielded a greater benefit to the tourism industry in “rural” areas.
I Sverige antogs en ny Luftkvalitetsförordning i juni 2010 (2010:477). Den reglerar vilka ämnen som omfattas av miljökvalitetsnormer för luftkvalitet samt hur detta styrmedel ska tillämpas. Enligt denna förordning ansvarar kommunerna för att kontrollera luftkvaliteten för de flesta miljökvalitetsnormerna, i samverkan eller på egen hand. Dalarnas Luftvårdsförbund samordnar detta arbete i Dalarna och de arbetar nu med att utforma ett nytt program. Ett sådant program ska baseras på den kunskap som finns om luftkvaliteten i samverkansområdet. I denna rapport beskrivs resultaten från den övervakning som skett fram till nu och utifrån detta diskuteras vad ett nytt program för övervakning av luftkvalitet behöver innehålla. I Dalarna är det risk för överskridande av nedre utvärderingströskeln (NUT) för partiklar och kvävedioxid på vissa gator i Borlänge respektive Falun. Det finns även risk för överskridande av miljökvalitetsnormen för kvävedioxid (det svenska gränsvärdet för dag och timme) i Falun. Detta innebär att Falun åtminstone måste ha en mätstation för kvävedioxid. Eftersom övre utvärderingströskeln (ÖUT) överskrids måste denna kompletteras med ytterligare en mätstation alternativt modellering på någon plats i samverkansområdet. För partiklar gäller att NUT överskrids och därmed måste det finnas två mätstationer i samverkansområdet. Risk för överskridande av NUT finns inte för övriga ämnen och därmed kan enklare mätning alternativt modellering användas för dessa. Programmet bör utformas för att både övervaka långsiktiga förändringar och ge underlag för att bedöma om behov finns för genomförande av åtgärder. Detta sker genom fasta mätpunkter som är strategiskt placerade på platser där det kan förmodas vara för länet högsta halter. Om miljökvalitetsnormer eller den övre eller nedre utvärderingströskeln inte överskrids på dessa platser är sannolikheten liten att halter av aktuella föroreningar överskrids på andra platser i länet. Vid dessa mätstationer samlas även information om aktiviteter som bidrar till halter av luftföroreningar för att mätningarna ska kunna användas för att kalibrera modeller för förhållanden i Dalarna. Eftersom Falun och Borlänge är tätorterna med högst halter bör de fasta mätstationer som lagen kräver ska finnas i samverkansområdet placeras där. I Falun måste mätning av kvävedioxid genomföras medan Borlänge har störst problem med partiklar. Det är därför lämpligt att mätning av kvävedioxid sker i Falun (gärna två platser som representerar gatunivå och urban bakgrund) medan mätningar av partiklar på motsvarande sätt sker i Borlänge (gatunivå för PM 10 och urban bakgrund för PM2,5). Givet att annan relevant information som trafikarbete samlas in vid mätpunkterna kommer denna information kunna användas för att både använda och kalibrera modeller. Utöver dessa fasta mätstationer behöver kontroll av luftkvalitet genomföras med jämna mellanrum i andra kommuner i länet. Detta kan ske genom ambulerande mätningar, alternativ modelleringar, på olika platser i länet som utformas utifrån lokala behov. Exempel på sådana lokala behov är att kommunerna bedriver tillsyn och de har exempelvis skyldighet att övervaka betydelsen av småskalig vedeldning för luftkvaliteten. Eftersom detta är en källa med begränsad lokal påverkan är det svårt att fånga dess inverkan genom centralt placerade mätstationer. Det finns även variationer över tid i trafikarbetet som kan leda till förhöjda halter på vissa platser periodvis. Även bidraget från olika industrier kan vara intressant att kartlägga mer i detalj för att ge underlag för arbetet med tillsyn.
In 2012 the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) was commissioned by the government to develop and establish a procedure and methodology for national risk assessment in Sweden. In 2013 MSB continued this work and also initiated work to develop a more coherent and reliable process for producing national risk and capability assessments. An assignment was therefore given to VTI where the questions was how economics can be implemented in practice in this more comprehensive work. To provide a basis for discussion, the current system for national risk- and capability assessments undertaken by the public sector is described in the beginning of the report. Next, based on findings in the scientific literature, the report contains a discussion of how economics can be of use in risk assessment and management. Since cost-benefit analysis is the analytical tool used, this overview also contains a short summary on how to perform this type of analysis. Based on this background information a method is proposed on how to analyze a decision problem in this kind of risk context. The method comprises the following logical steps: - Scenario analysis to develop an analytical model of the risk context focusing on a description of the capabilities needed to reduce the probability of and the consequences of a certain hazard. - Capability assessment to quantify the current level of the relevant capabilities. - GAP-analysis to identify if there is a lack of important capabilities and if so, what measures that can address these insufficiencies. - Cost-benefit analysis to evaluate different policy measures to improve the capability. - Stress test and evaluation to test the functioning of the risk management system and the effect of the policy changes made. The analytical model developed in the first step can be used for this purpose.
This paper investigates how past experience influences choice behaviour and valuation in a hypothetical travel mode choice situation. Using a stated choice question asked of visitors to a major ski resort in Sweden, the author explores whether an individual's choice behaviour, when he or she is offered a comfort improvement to train travel, can be explained with reference to the individual and to the circumstances of his or her previous journey.
The analysis models and compares the response behaviour of travellers who used a car and travellers who used the train on their original trip. It is found that past experience influences travellers' choice behaviour. Twenty per cent of former car users choose the train, while most train users again choose the train. As reasons for choosing car travel once again, car users mention a preference for shorter travel time and/or a preference for flexibility, while environmental concerns and long travel distance favour the use of the train. Concerning comfort improvement, as expected, willingness-to-pay estimates for the former train users are lower and more precise than those for the former car users.
This report presents the basis and calculations for the subproject air pollution carried out within the framework of VTI’s third government commission on traffic economic costs (Samkost 3). We have in this study estimated marginal external costs of air pollution with the method developed and used in the EU for this purpose, the so-called “Impact Pathway Approach”, focusing on the importance and the impact of air traffic in Sweden. These calculations require dispersion- and exposure modelling and SMHI was therefore commissioned to provide data from this type of calculations based on the MATCH model.
Due to time constraints, since this VTI’s commission had a deadline and this work involves complex calculation that requires time, the calculations got adapted to the restrictions of the commission. Separate calculations were done for flight at different heights (LTO, low and high cruise) and only for traffic in the Swedish air space. Separate modelling was done with total reduction of all emissions from this traffic, but also when only NOx from air traffic was reduced. Finally, we tested the influence of the geographical area used in the modelling.
This paper measures the external health cost due to emissions from different sources in the Stockholm area using the Impact pathway approach. The estimated health impact is the result of detailed dispersion modelling with high spatial resolution. We make separate calculations for the impact that occur within the Stockholm area, the surrounding region and the rest of Europe. The pollutants considered are combustion and secondary particulate matter (PM) from the burning of fuels and also road wear (non-exhaust PM) that makes a large contribution to measured concentrations of PM locally in Stockholm. We also investigate the influence of assumptions made regarding the exposure-response functions used in these calculations since PM of different origin are expected to have different health impacts. According to the results road traffic makes important contributions to the external health cost both on a local and a regional scale compared to other sources. This is in part due to emissions being released in close proximity to where people live but also because of the amount of pollutants emitted. Although non-exhaust PM makes a large contribution to local population exposure within Stockholm the external health cost is relatively small which is due to other health impact being relevant for this emission source. Residential heating also makes an important contribution to exposure and external health cost on a local scale while power plants have a large influence regionally.
It has long been recognized that emissions from traffic have a negative impact on human health. In recent years there has been emerging consensus that the main influence is due to particulate matter. From an economic point of view these negative effects are external costs caused by traffic that, if not accounted for in decision making regarding transport, will result in a non-optimal allocation of resources leading to welfare losses. To be able to implement road pricing measures, but also for the evaluation of other control measures through benefit-cost analysis, information on the external cost of traffic emissions is needed. In the Impact pathway approach (IPA), that has been developed in the ExternE projects, the external cost is calculated as the product of exposure, effect and value. In this study the effect we focus on is health impacts (mortality). Regarding particulate matter (PM) there is recognition among the research community that there are different types of PM and that it is likely that their impact on human health differs. Still the current practice is to treat fine PM (which are considered to be most detrimental to health) as equally harmful irrespective of origin. In the TESS project the purpose has been to investigate how important the external health cost of road traffic generated PM is in relation to the cost of other sources of PM. To do this we have both investigated how the exposure varies between sources but also assessed if it is reasonable to assume that the impact differs between PM from different sources. Whether or not to assume that PM of different origin is equally harmful is of particular interest in Sweden where non-exhaust PM makes a large contribution to the concentrations of PM in urban areas. In the project we have used Stockholm as a case study and we have focused on mortality since this is the health impact that has been found to have the largest impact on health cost in other studies.
In December 2012, the Swedish government commissioned VTI to update the social marginal cost for using infrastructure for all modes of transport based on state-of-the-art knowledge in the research community. The task only involved state roads. In this report we present the data used and the results for the external costs of air pollution (exhaust emissions) and noise. We have used the Impact Pathway Approach to perform the calculations using Swedish data focusing on health. In these calculations we have placed particular emphasis on how the influence of population density in the vicinity of roads influence the results from these calculations. For noise we developed an exposure function based on the new EU-CNOSSOS model which accounted for the location of buildings close to a road while for air pollution we used results based on detailed calculations in the Stockholm area. The results, using updated input data from 2012 on kilometers driven, emissions factors from HBEFA etc., are in line with those presented in the EU handbook from 2014 “Update of the Handbook on External Costs of Transport” but lower than those currently used in analysis of transport investments in Sweden (the so called ASEK-values). An important reason for this is that we have used more detailed information on population exposure. We have also concluded that there are geographical differences in the external cost for air pollution between the north and the south of Sweden. For both air and noise emissions there is also a difference between urban and rural areas. Based on the results we conclude that there are a number of issues where further research is needed, for example the possible interaction of air pollution and noise on human health. There are also still questions regarding the dispersion of emissions and population exposure and how this varies between cities and within cities in Sweden, depending on for example meteorological conditions. For air pollution there is also the question of the formation of secondary pollutants and their dispersion pattern and if they contribute to an external environmental cost in addition to health. One particular source of emissions in Sweden is the used of studded tyres which contribute to very high concentration levels of particulate matter close to roads in springtime. Since the focus in this study was on state roads we have not addressed this pollutant in this report.
Sustainable development implies that society’s limited resources should be used efficiently, taking into account the various impacts on society – social, economic and environmental. To achieve established societal goals efficiently, various aspects have to be accounted for in the design of policy measures. Within the EU a Regulatory Impact Assessment, where a cost-benefit analysis is included, needs to accompany all major regulatory initiatives. According to research and different policy assessment, Sweden lacks an established praxis regarding this type of analysis in the area of environmental policy but also in the field of energy and transport. The purpose of this project is to investigate how Sweden uses this type of information in the negotiations that take place within the EU regarding policy proposals but also investigate the reasons for use or non-use. The focus is on what role the organization and the bureaucrats play for the collection of this type of information.
The overall conclusion that can be drawn from the three sub-studies included in the project, as well as the discussion at the closing seminar, is that this is not an established way of working in the Swedish government system. This can be explained by lack of competence, an established mistrust, management by objectives and lack of an institutional framework for when and how this type of broader impact assessment is to be conducted. At the closing seminar, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency presented that it is now working on a guide to help officials to analyze at an early stage whether there is a need for regulation by society, to initiate the work by asking the question “What is the problem?”. We think that this is a step in the right direction, but we also see that the economists working out in government are often alone or very few and may therefore need different forms of support to develop the work on this kind of, often complex, analysis.
In 2002 the external costs of air pollution from the Swedish transport sector were calculated using the methodology developed within the EU-funded ExternE-projects. A comparison of these estimates with those presently in use in Swedish transport analysis revealed important differences, especially for particulate matter. The main purpose of this project was to examine the calculations for Stockholm in the Swedish ExternE-study and based on the findings from this examination propose a method to be used for the cost calculation for pollutants with local impacts. In addition, the methods used for the cost calculation for pollutants with regional impact should be described. In the report, the results are presented in two parts. In the first part, the method we propose for the cost calculation for pollutants with local impact is presented. We suggest that the calculation is based on three components; exposure estimates, effects estimates and values. The product of these three gives the final cost. In this part of the report we also present the approaches currently used to calculate the cost for pollutants with a regional impact. In part two of the report we present in greater detail the findings from the examination of the calculations for Stockholm in the Swedish ExternE-study.
By performing RIA, the risk of imposing a proposal that is inefficient or leads to sub-optimization is reduced. In the EU this approach to regulatory policy making was introduced in 2002 and it is a crucial component of the Better Regulation Agenda. However the practical implementation of this approach in Member States is varied; Sweden has not implemented the full RIA process. Currently there is a focus on the reduction of administrative burdens for businesses. This paper describes the present use of RIA and CBA in the Swedish planning context and discusses the reasons for and the consequences of current practices. Using the Swedish transport regulator as a case study, the paper considers the following aspects; i) the Swedish planning context and existing requirements regarding the use of RIA, ii) current focus of research regarding CBA for infrastructure investments in the Swedish transport sector and the need for greater focus on issues concerning regulation, iii) the difficulty to quantify and place monetary values on effects, which also increases when unique, complex and uncertain situations are assessed and iv) the need for the alignment of incentives at all levels and across agencies.
To achieve effective regulation, the OECD and the European Commission recommend the use of regulatory impact assessment (RIA). The full RIA process has however not been implemented in Sweden. There is for example a lack of established practices at the national level for the analysis of risk in regulatory work. Instead, soft law in the form of management by objective systems is guiding transport and environmental policy. These systems were introduced in the end of the 1990s following the international discussion on the precautionary principle. According to findings in other countries, policy making based on the precautionary principle may result in unexpected and unwanted consequences and therefore, based on a literature review and an assessment of current practices in transport regulation in Sweden, we suggest the use of an initial screening of hazards in regulatory work. We also apply the proposed method to four transport related case studies to illustrate how an initial assessment can provide the basis for an informed discussion on what hazards to counteract with regulation and on what grounds.