Transport Policy and Planning: An Integrated Analytical Approach Book

In 1983 the Economic Development Institute (EDI) made three important decisions concerning its transport activities. First, it planned to shift the emphasis in these activities from teaching project analysis to helping countries strengthen their capability for policy analysis, formulation, and implementation. Second, the EDI decided to incorporate policy analysis into its transport activities as much as possible. And, third, it would try to develop this new strategy by using microcomputers to simulate policy options and explore their complex interrelationships, as well as the relationship between each policy and its stated goals. Because these objectives encompassed national and local policy along with a wide range of policy alternatives, a comprehensive transport model seemed appropriate. The purpose of this document is to demonstrate how such a model can be used to evaluate policies, to compare it with other kinds of models, and to examine the use of models in the wider context of policy objectives and instruments. It considers the relationship between policy objectives and instruments; places transport models in the context of policymaking; and demonstrates the use of a comprehensive model for testing policy strategies. This manual is intended for the policymaker who has little modeling expertise; it is designed to make the policymaker aware of the possible use of models in decisionmaking.