Mobility, accessibility and productivity: A note on the economic valuation of travel time in greater São Paulo

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to introduce into the debate on valuation of urban workers travel time an alternative view that integrates some of their transmission channels to the economy. The relationship between commuting time, mobility and productivity is explored, along with the ability to capture higher order (general equilibrium) effects in a spatial economic system. The proposed method is applied to the case of the São Paulo Metropolitan Region (SPMR). In addition to offering additional parameters for economic assessment of urban mobility projects in the SPMR, we calculate the economic losses associated with excessive mobility frictions in the region.