http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/199602549

Rationing can backfire the "day without a car" in Mexico City

In Mexico City, a ban restricting each car from driving on a specified work-day actually increased total driving and congestion. In November 1989, Mexico City's administration imposed a regulation banning each car from driving on a specific day of the week. The regulation has been both popular and controversial. Some feel that it is a reasonable concession aimed to alleviate congestion and pollution problems. Others feel it is both inefficient and unfair: inefficient in the way most rationing systems are inefficient, and unfair in that it is costly to some and easily avoided or accommodated by others. Some feel that it may be so inefficient that it is counterproductive. And Eskeland and Feyzioglu found evidence to support that view. Many households bought an additional car to get additional driving permits, and the amount of driving increased. Greater use of old cars and increased weekend driving may have contributed to the disappointing results of Mexico's one-day ban on driving: high welfare costs and none of the intended benefits. This paper -- a product of the Public Economics Division, Policy Research Department -- is part of a larger effort in the department to analyze environmental policies and was initiated in conjunction with operational support to the Infrastructure Division, Country Department II, Latin America and the Caribbean. The study was funded by the Bank's Research Support Budget under the research project Pollution and the Choice of Policy Instruments in Developing Countries (RPO 676-48).

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