Infraestructures i gestió de la mobilitat : aspectes econòmics, territorials i rendibilitat social

This doctoral thesis analyzes the impact of the creation and implementation of transport infrastructures, specifically high-capacity road axes, on the territory and the welfare of the population with a marginal approach: several improvements are proposed over the usual methodologies. First, macroeconomic aspects are analyzed from the regionalization of input-output tables at the regional level and the application of shift-share methodologies and analysis of the productive and business base at a local level, to capture the changes produced by the implementation of a transport infrastructure. With the input-output table, the regional impacts are determined starting from the coefficients of location of the productive base with an iterative methodology. As a result, the distribution of the impacts of implementing an infrastructure between local, Catalan and outside Catalonia economies is obtained. This is the minimum impact, because it does not include factors related to distance or interproductive relationships at the local level, which are left as a future research. Shift-share analysis is difficult to apply in a generic mode and refers to particular cases. The variations in the business and productive base explain, to a large extent, how the effects of the implementation of an infrastructure are transferred to the local economy. However, given that economic benefits depend on the attitude of local economic agents, it is important that investments in infrastructures are associated with accompanying measures in the economic field. The second part of the thesis analyzes microeconomic aspects, including the monetary valuation of the environmental functions lost due to the change of land uses, instead of the expropriations (which are a transfer between the Administration and the owner of the land) within the cost-benefit analysis. Intangible valuation techniques allow monetizing these environmental functions, contributing to the cost-benefit analysis better reflecting the results on social welfare. Finally, privacy is valued in monetary terms, through discounts on tolls for high occupancy vehicles (3 or more occupants), which involve the use of a highly sensitive camera to detect occupants. These control mechanisms through video cameras or photographs are common within the concept of smart mobility, and are causing interesting debates about possible coercion of privacy. The thesis measures this privacy based on surveys, an innovative aspect that may be relevant in the future. The document closes with global conclusions and future research.