Highway Safety, Economic Behavior, and Driving Environment
利用美国县级面板数据，通过更合适的估计方法控制遗漏变量偏差，在单一模型中纳入更多变量，并区分城乡驾驶环境，研究高速公路安全法规的经济效应。
Economic analysis has enhanced our understanding of the efficacy of highway safety regulations. Specifically, a consumer-theoretic literature has developed on drivers' responses to regulations, based on ideas first set forth by Lester lave and W. E. Weber (1970) and more fully thought out by Sam Peltzman (1975). Meanwhile, an empirical literature has also developed, testing hypotheses relating to the effects on safety of speed limits, safety-device regulations, and alcohol policies, among other things. yet, despite extensive research, controversies remain as to the effects of regulations on highway safety.This paper contributes to the literature on economic aspects of highway safety in an four important ways: First, it is based on a county-level data set for the U. S. for 1970 and !980, affording over 2,600 observations each year in a consistent panel, many more observations than previous studies have used. Second, this study uses different and more appropriate estimation procedures than most previous studies, allowing for the count nature of highway fatalities and correcting for omitted-variable bias otherwise possible in cross-section analysis. Third, the model used here controls for more variables in a single model than previous studies. Finally, this study allows for important differences in the estimated coefficients between urban and rural driving environments.