Comments on: Time-lapse Beijing

By: May in Beijing China

May in Beijing China — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:48:16 +0000

The problem re cars is not so much that people need cars but that, owning one being a quite new opportunity, many people can’t resist to get one. When the subway train system doubles then trebles in size, the traffic situation will ease.

By: China Law Blog

China Law Blog — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 17:31:14 +0000

John Pomfret Speaking In Portland, OR, On October 19

I am a big fan of both John Pomfret and Portland, Oregon’s NW China Council and I just learned they will be coming together on Thursday, October 19, for an evening of Chinese food and great talk. John Pomfret, a correspondent and former Beijing b…

By: China Law Blog

China Law Blog — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 09:25:59 +0000

John Pomfret Speaking In Portland, OR, On October 19

By: Tom Asacker

Tom Asacker — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 16:21:50 +0000

Thanks Peter. I like the idea. And if corporations had to pay the additional travel fee (instead of workers), they’d probably be more likely to provide flexible working hours.

By: Reynold

Reynold — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 11:50:11 +0000

Peter:
I think Singapore has similar restrictions. Heard that cars have coloured stickers – you can drive on any one day of the week only. Also something similar to the congestion charge applies to the downtown area.

By: Peter

Peter — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 10:56:33 +0000

Tom — London has a “congestion charge” in which vehicles entering the centre of London during business hours pay a fee. A network of closed-circuit TV cameras track vehicles entering the city and the system sends a penalty fine to vehicle-owners who have entered the zone without having paid the fee. The system has been very successful in reducing traffic in peak periods, and (perhaps as a result) less successful than predicted in raising revenue. The Mayor of London has ploughed some of the moneys raised into better bus services. The zone for which the charge is payable is about to be extended.

I think the key difference with a fuel tax is that the congestion charge aims at reducing congestion during the worst periods. You can still drive for free through the centre of London at night and at weekends. A fuel tax would be payable whatever time and place you drove, and so would provide no time-specific or location-specific disincentives to reduce driving during peak hours.

By: Tom Asacker

Tom Asacker — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 10:08:42 +0000

Safe travels Grant. Try some shirataki noodles and let me know your thoughts.

Peter, is there a difference between what the UK is doing and our fuel taxes in the US?

By: Peter

Peter — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 06:39:56 +0000

On the traffic congestion problem, I suspect that most countries will eventually adopt some form of charging-for-driving, as London, UK, has done successfully. The British Government recently floated proposals for using satnav to track all movements of all cars, and charging every vehicle a small fee per mile travelled. “User pays” is probably the only systematic way to ensure that the externalities of road-use are internalized.

By: Grant

Grant — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 19:32:58 +0000

Reynold, interesting URLs, thanks, it seems an intractable problem, more wealth means more cars, but, yes, I think it’s worth it, only the traffic in this system locks up. talent and capital stream. Thanks, Grant

TJIC, thanks for your note, I didn’t mean that the China has taken the lead quite yet, only that the strides you speak are so, as you say, amazing, that that day can’t be very far off. As to the Zeno’s paradox here, I think China does not suffer that disadvantage of having taking the lead. once all talent is online I think the “pull away” can happen very quickly. Speaking of metaphors, your “three small women with tiny appetites” wins the summer “metaphor award” on this blog. Thanks, Grant

By: TJIC

TJIC — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 10:55:51 +0000

China has hardly caught up to the West – some small pockets have first world standard of livings, but away from a few hotels and business districts, the average income, wealth, and education is abysmal. This is not to say that China hasn’t made huge strides – it has…amazing strides.

Further, with regard to “pulling ahead”: this happens very very rarely. The closer an emergent economy gets to the world leading economies, the slower it grows. It’s akin to Zeno’s paradox: they halve the distance, halve the distance again, halve it yet again…and never close it to zero. The reason is partially that growth is fuelled by importing technologies and methodologies from more advanced areas. The closer you get to world-class, the fewer places there are that are more advanced than you – you switch from importing technologies to laboriously *creating* the new technologies.

China also has major demographic problems – because of the one-child policy, they’ve got a retirement overhang that makes the US’s babyboomers seem like three small women with tiny appetites.