Transport economics is a branch of economics that focuses on how resources are used for the transportation of people and goods. Just like any branch of economics, there is a demand and a supply. Transport demand is the derived demand for transportation, based on the need to participate in an activity and to move goods from where they are manufactured to where they are consumed. The demand for transport is based on consumer income and the price of a good.
A demand function is used to represent a consumer’s willingness to purchase the transported good or service at different prices. In transport economics, generalized cost is the costs of a journey, including monetary and non-monetary costs. Generalized cost takes money, distance, and time into consideration. The development of models in this area of economics measures the choices of the goods involved in transport decisions. Demand is measured by total distanced travelled or number of trips and supply is measured by capacity.
Positive and negative externalities are a part of transport economics. Positive externalities are the emergency services that are provided by transport networks while negative externalities include safety hazards, pollution, and traffic congestion. Transport economists have to factor in the environment when building transportation networks. The environment can influence travel costs and time.
Agricultural economics uses the principles and methods of economics and applies them to the production of livestock and crops. This branch of economics is more oriented towards microeconomics because it looks at the actions of individual food producers. Agricultural economics ideally creates an agriculture industry that is more efficient and better understands sustenance and market demand. It is a relatively new field of economics and is the accumulation of a multitude of schools of thought that focus on different aspects of agriculture.
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