TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH FORUM

Georgia Tech’s Patrick McCarthy wins Top Paper Award for his work on Tradeoffs involving Travel to Health Facilities in China

Chicago, IL, Patrick McCarthy, a Georgia Institute of Technology professor in the School of Economics, won the Best Paper Award at the 64th Annual Transportation Research Forum on Friday, April 28th, 2023. The award goes to the author(s) of an academic paper that the review committee deems to have made the most significant contribution to transportation research. The review committee evaluated nominees based on the quality, timeliness, and impact of their work.

Professor McCarthy’s paper, “Health Indicators, Mode Choice, and Time-Cost Trade-offs: Evidence from Out-Patient Trips to Health Care Facilities,” uses data on individuals in China who are 45 years of age and older. The paper analyzes how health conditions affect the values that out-patient tripmakers place upon their travel times. McCarthy’s results show that health factors that impact physical mobility lower out-patient trip makers’ values of time, whereas health factors related to non-physical mobility conditions tend to raise travel time values. McCarthy’s findings have implications for older population mode choices and residential decisions, and for transport and health investment projects whose benefits include the value of travel time savings.

The Award Program is sponsored by the Transportation Research Forum Foundation, a charitable organization.