An Economic Approach to Taxi Regulation

Details

Supervisors

de Ghellinck, Elisabeth ; Peeters , Ronald

Faculty

Faculté des sciences économiques, sociales, politiques et de communication

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences économiques, orientation générale

Abstract

In recent years, the taxi industry has drawn great attention from the media. Indeed, the introduction of Uber in the market has drastically shaken the industry’s habits. Industry proponents raise the unfair competition argument to offset the development of this new start-up. However, this school of thought does not account for the opportunity for new technologies to act as game changers. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the ongoing debate by providing an economic assessment of the current situation. On the one hand, the economic rationale of taxi regulation are investigated. In particular, I show how regulation is able to solve the market imperfections present in the sector. On the other, I examine the potentiale for improvements by assessing the role of technology in solving these market failures. The findings suggest that regulation in the sector is costly for society. In this context, Uber seems promising. Indeed, ressources are allocated in a more efficient way via new technologies.