In general, using more congestion charges in crowded transportation networks — such as higher tolls during peak travel times in cities, and peak fees for airplane takeoff and landing slots — and using the proceeds to lower other taxes would make citizens on average better off.
Responses
© 2025. Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets.
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Responses weighted by each expert's confidence
© 2025. Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets.
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Participant |
University |
Vote |
Confidence |
Bio/Vote History |
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 Philippe Aghion |
Harvard | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
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 Franklin Allen |
Imperial College London | Bio/Vote History | ||
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These kinds of taxes are beneficial in my view provided the technology for implementing them is sufficiently low cost.
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 Pol Antras |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Richard Baldwin |
The Graduate Institute Geneva | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
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 Agnès Bénassy-Quéré |
Paris School of Economics | Bio/Vote History | ||
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The citizens would likely be better off if the congestion charges were used to invest in public transportation.
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 Timothy J. Besley |
LSE | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Congestion is a huge economic problem, especially in parts of the UK (such as London) which can be mitigated with more congestion charging.
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 Olivier Blanchard |
Peterson Institute | Bio/Vote History | ||
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no brainer for an economist, so long as redistribution implications taken care of.
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 Nicholas Bloom |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Richard William Blundell |
University College London | Bio/Vote History | ||
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One of the key negative externalities of private car use in modern cities in congestion. Congestion charging can correct this, e.g. London.
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 Elena Carletti |
Bocconi | Bio/Vote History | ||
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I am not familiar with this topic, and I am not sure about the feasibility of the idea
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 Jean-Pierre Danthine |
Paris School of Economics | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Paul De Grauwe |
LSE | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Jan Eeckhout |
UPF Barcelona | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Ernst Fehr |
Universität Zurich | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Xavier Freixas |
Barcelona GSE | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Basic microeconomic theory of internalizing externalities (Pigouvian tax)
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 Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln |
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Jordi Galí |
Barcelona GSE | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Efficient allocation of a scarce resource to those who value it more.
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 Luis Garicano |
LSE | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
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 Francesco Giavazzi |
Bocconi | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
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 Rachel Griffith |
University of Manchester | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Charges would shift some consumers quieter times and reduce congestion, lower taxes would compensate those paying higher fares.
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 Veronica Guerrieri |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Luigi Guiso |
Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Martin Hellwig |
Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
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 Patrick Honohan |
Trinity College Dublin | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Depends on the way in which the taxes are rebated.
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 Henrik Kleven |
Princeton | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Botond Kőszegi |
Central European University | Bio/Vote History | ||
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This is a typical externality.
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 Jan Pieter Krahnen |
Goethe University Frankfurt | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Note that crowdedness is endogenous, and an allocation of proceeds to all citizens (rather than other transportation users) is third best.
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 Per Krusell |
Stockholm University | Bio/Vote History | ||
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this approach works in theory and seems to also work in practice
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 Eliana La Ferrara |
Harvard Kennedy | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Christian Leuz |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Congestion pricing is like pricing externalities. But welfare effects are not entirely obvious.
-see background information here |
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 Costas Meghir |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Peter Neary |
Oxford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Travelling on congested roads, no matter how desirable to the individual, imposes costs on other users which governments should internalise
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 Kevin O'Rourke |
Oxford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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The average citizen is a fiction so I would like to know more about distributional implications of the charges & whose taxes will be cut.
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 Marco Pagano |
Università di Napoli Federico II | Bio/Vote History | ||
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It is surely efficient, although it may also generate redistribution effects.
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 Lubos Pastor |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Torsten Persson |
Stockholm University | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Peak-load congestion charges have signficantly lowered traffic in Stockholm, London and other European cities.
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 Christopher Pissarides |
London School of Economics and Political Science | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Congestion has negative externalities and the policy described compensates citizens for their costs
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 Richard Portes |
London Business School | Bio/Vote History | ||
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London congestion charge worked - briefly. Just raise it!
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 Canice Prendergast |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Lucrezia Reichlin |
London Business School | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Rafael Repullo |
CEMFI | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Hélène Rey |
London Business School | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Antoinette Schoar |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 John Van Reenen |
LSE | Bio/Vote History | ||
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The most efficient way to make use of congested resources. Just lacks political will
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 John Vickers |
Oxford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Curbing externalities while raising revenue is doubly good. But charging system may itself have cost.
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 Hans-Joachim Voth |
University of Zurich | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Beatrice Weder di Mauro |
The Graduate Institute, Geneva | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Karl Whelan |
University College Dublin | Bio/Vote History | ||
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If we are going to tax things (and we have to) it's best to tax things that have negative effects such as congestion, alcohol, carbon etc.
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 Charles Wyplosz |
The Graduate Institute Geneva | Bio/Vote History | ||
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"On average" is crucial because these measures have income redistribution effects that hurt some and benefit others.
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 Fabrizio Zilibotti |
Yale University | Bio/Vote History | ||
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