世界银行-用于运输需求管理的车辆和燃料税：从发展视角学习文献（英）-2023.12-68页_662kb

Policy Research Working Paper Summary

Title: Vehicle and Fuel Taxation for Transport Demand Management: Learnings from the Literature through a Development Lens
Authors: He He, Chaeyoung Kim
Organization: World Bank

Key Findings and Lessons

1. Introduction & Rationale

• Correctly pricing private vehicles and their use is crucial for building sustainable, safe, and equitable transportation systems.
• Transport emissions (e.g., greenhouse gases, air pollution) are among the fastest-growing sectors globally, contributing to climate change and health issues.
• Price instruments (taxes, fees, subsidies) are effective policy tools for incentivizing sustainable behavior, but their design and enforcement are often limited in developing contexts.

2. External Costs of Private Vehicle Use

• Congestion accounts for ~45.5% of external costs, followed by crashes and air pollution.
• Total external costs worldwide are estimated at $8.8 trillion annually, representing ~8.7% of global GDP.
• These costs are often underpriced globally, leading to overconsumption of private transport.

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3. Key Takeaways from Literature

3.1 Efficiency

• Use taxes (e.g., fuel taxes, distance-based charges) are optimal for internalizing externalities (Pigouvian principle).
• Vehicle purchase taxes or ownership taxes are less efficient due to separating driving behavior from externality costs and indirect effects like delays in replacing old vehicles.

3.2 Tax Design Challenges

• Poor saliency of taxes limits behavioral responses.
• Gaming occurs when loopholes allow manufacturers to exploit tax structures.
• Tax evasion is incentivized by high taxes, especially in developing countries with weak enforcement capacity.

3.3 Distributional Impacts

• Taxation creates winners and losers, but redistributive fairness depends on the country context.
• In low-income countries, vehicle taxes tend to be progressive because vehicles remain luxury goods, but fuel taxes can affect mobility budgets.

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4. Interactions with Other Policies

• Effective tax policy must complement public transportation and non-motorized infrastructure.
• Revenue from vehicle taxes can fund public transit, but political resistance often stalls reforms.
• Electric vehicles (EVs) reduce some externalities but require new tax frameworks (e.g., distance-based fees).

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5. Development Context Lessons

Key Challenges in LMICs

• Reliance on used vehicles (from high-income countries) creates polluting and aging fleets.
• Limited institutional capacity hinders enforcement of taxes like congestion charges and distance-based fees.
• Fuel subsidies in some countries distort markets and exacerbate fiscal deficits.

Policy Recommendations

• Prioritize revenue-neutral feebate schemes to encourage efficient vehicle purchases.
• Explore alternative mobility options (EVs, public transit) to reduce externalities.
• Address equity by recycling revenue and targeting informal mobility alternatives.
• Strengthen institutional capacity for enforcement and transparency.

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6. Conclusion

• Use taxes are the most efficient tools for managing private vehicle demand.
• Second-best solutions like scrappage programs or EV subsidies can be pursued in developing countries due to fiscal constraints.
• Effective demand management requires integrated strategies addressing institutional, behavioral, and spatial barriers.