Distributional Effects of Transport Policies on Inequalities in Access to Opportunities in Rio De Janeiro

39 Pages Posted: 28 Mar 2018

See all articles by Rafael H.M. Pereira

Rafael H.M. Pereira

Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA); University of Oxford - Oxford University Transport Studies Unit

David Banister

University of Oxford

Tim Schwanen

University of Utrecht

Nate Wessel

University of Toronto

Date Written: September 1, 2017

Abstract

The evaluation of the social impacts of transport policies is attracting growing attention in recent years. Yet, this literature is still predominately focused on developed countries. The goal of this research is to investigate how investments in public transport networks can reshape social and geographical inequalities in access to opportunities in a developing country, using the city of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) as a case study. Recent mega-events, including the 2014 Football World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, have triggered substantial investment in the city’s transport system. More recently, though, bus services in Rio have been rationalized and reduced as a response to a fiscal crisis and a drop in passenger demand, giving a unique opportunity to look at the distributional effects this cycle of investment and disinvestment have had on peoples’ access to educational and employment opportunities. Based on a before-and-after comparison of Rio’s public transport network, this study uses a spatial regression model and cluster analysis to estimate how accessibility gains vary across different income groups and areas of the city between April 2014 and March 2017. The results show that recent cuts in service levels have offset the potential benefits of newly added public transport infrastructure in Rio. Average access by public transport to jobs and public high-schools decreased approximately 4% and 6% in the period, respectively. Nonetheless, wealthier areas had on average small but statistically significant higher gains in access to schools and job opportunities than poorer areas. These findings suggest that, contrary to the official discourses of transport legacy, recent transport policies in Rio have exacerbated rather than reduced socio-spatial inequalities in access to opportunities.

Keywords: Equity, Accessibility, transport policy, Rio de Janeiro, distributive justice, Spatial scale, mega-events

Suggested Citation

Pereira, Rafael H.M. and Banister, David and Schwanen, Tim and Wessel, Nate, Distributional Effects of Transport Policies on Inequalities in Access to Opportunities in Rio De Janeiro (September 1, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3040844 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3040844

Rafael H.M. Pereira (Contact Author)

Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) ( email )

Av. Pres. Antonio Carlos , 51 - 17 andar
Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20020-010
Brazil

University of Oxford - Oxford University Transport Studies Unit ( email )

School of Geography and the Environment
South Parks Road
Oxford, OX1 3QY
United Kingdom

David Banister

University of Oxford ( email )

Mansfield Road
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 4AU
United Kingdom

Tim Schwanen

University of Utrecht

Vredenburg 138
NL-3508 TC Utrecht, 3511 BG
Netherlands

Nate Wessel

University of Toronto ( email )

105 St George Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8
Canada

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