IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v36y2008i8p3106-3114.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparing flexibility mechanisms for fuel economy standards

Author

Listed:
  • Fischer, Carolyn

Abstract

Since 1975, the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program has been the main policy tool in the US for coping with the problems of increasing fuel consumption and dependence on imported oil. The program mandates average fuel economy requirements for the new vehicle sales of each manufacturer's fleet, with separate standards for cars and light trucks. The fact that each manufacturer must on its own meet the standards means that the incentives to improve fuel economy are different across manufacturers and vehicle types, although the problems associated with fuel consumption do not make such distinctions. This paper evaluates different mechanisms to offer automakers the flexibility of joint compliance with nationwide fuel economy goals: tradable CAFE credits, feebates, output-rebated fees, and tradable credits with banking. The policies are compared according to the short- and long-run economic incentives, as well as to issues of transparency, implementation, administrative and transaction costs, and uncertainty.

Suggested Citation

  • Fischer, Carolyn, 2008. "Comparing flexibility mechanisms for fuel economy standards," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 3106-3114, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:36:y:2008:i:8:p:3106-3114
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301-4215(08)00172-9
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fischer, Carolyn, 2011. "Market power and output-based refunding of environmental policy revenues," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 212-230, January.
    2. Sterner, Thomas & Hoglund Isaksson, Lena, 2006. "Refunded emission payments theory, distribution of costs, and Swedish experience of NOx abatement," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 93-106, April.
    3. Austin, David & Dinan, Terry, 2005. "Clearing the air: The costs and consequences of higher CAFE standards and increased gasoline taxes," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 562-582, November.
    4. Kenneth A. Small & Kurt Van Dender, 2007. "Fuel Efficiency and Motor Vehicle Travel: The Declining Rebound Effect," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1), pages 25-52.
    5. Suzi Kerr & Richard G. Newell, 2003. "Policy‐Induced Technology Adoption: Evidence from the U.S. Lead Phasedown," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 317-343, September.
    6. Fischer, Carolyn, 2001. "Rebating Environmental Policy Revenues: Output-Based Allocations and Tradable Performance Standards," Discussion Papers 10709, Resources for the Future.
    7. Greene, David L, 1991. "Short-run Pricing Strategies to Increase Corporate Average Fuel Economy," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 29(1), pages 101-114, January.
    8. Ted Gayer, 2004. "The Fatality Risks of Sport-Utility Vehicles, Vans, and Pickups Relative to Cars," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 103-133, March.
    9. Greene, David L. & Patterson, Philip D. & Singh, Margaret & Li, Jia, 2005. "Feebates, rebates and gas-guzzler taxes: a study of incentives for increased fuel economy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 757-775, April.
    10. Greene, David L. & Patterson, Philip D. & Singh, Margaret & Li, Jia, 2005. "Corrigendum to "Feebates, rebates and gas-guzzler taxes: a study of incentives for increased fuel economy" [Energy Policy 33 (2005) 757-775]," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(14), pages 1901-1902, September.
    11. Train, Kenneth E. & Davis, William B. & Levine, Mark D., 1997. "Fees and rebates on new vehicles: Impacts on fuel efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions, and consumer surplus," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 1-13, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Soren T. Anderson & Ian W. H. Parry & James M. Sallee & Carolyn Fischer, 2011. "Automobile Fuel Economy Standards: Impacts, Efficiency, and Alternatives," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 5(1), pages 89-108, Winter.
    2. Parry, Ian W.H., 2012. "Reforming the tax system to promote environmental objectives: An application to Mauritius," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 103-112.
    3. Rozenberg, Julie & Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Hallegatte, Stephane, 2014. "Transition to clean capital, irreversible investment and stranded assets," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6859, The World Bank.
    4. Adamos Adamou & Sofronis Clerides & Theodoros Zachariadis, 2011. "Designing Carbon Taxation Schemes for Automobiles: A Simulation Exercise for Germany," Working Papers 2011.96, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    5. Werner Antweiler & Sumeet Gulati, 2013. "Market-Based Policies for Green Motoring in Canada," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 39(s2), pages 81-94, August.
    6. Adamos Adamou & Sofronis Clerides & Theodoros Zachariadis, 2012. "Assessment of CO2-Oriented Vehicle Tax Reforms: A Case Study of Greece," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 04-2012, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
    7. Mahlia, T.M.I. & Tohno, S. & Tezuka, T., 2013. "International experience on incentive program in support of fuel economy standards and labelling for motor vehicle: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 18-33.
    8. Adamos Adamou & Sofronis Clerides & Theodoros Zachariadis, 2012. "Trade-offs in CO2-Oriented Vehicle Tax Reforms: A Case Study of Greece," Working Paper series 33_12, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis.
    9. Itamar Milrad, 2018. "GREEN TAXATION: THE INFLUENCE AND DESIRABILITY OF THE FEEBATE SCHEME IN THE ISRAELI NEW CAR MARKETIn August 2009, a “green taxation”," Israel Economic Review, Bank of Israel, vol. 16(2), pages 1-36.
    10. Kangda Chen & Fuquan Zhao & Han Hao & Zongwei Liu & Xinglong Liu, 2021. "Hierarchical Optimization Decision-Making Method to Comply with China’s Fuel Consumption and New Energy Vehicle Credit Regulations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-25, July.
    11. Oliver, Hongyan H. & Gallagher, Kelly Sims & Tian, Donglian & Zhang, Jinhua, 2009. "China's fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles: Rationale, policy process, and impacts," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 4720-4729, November.
    12. Carl-Friedrich Elmer, 2010. "CO2-Emissionsstandards für Personenkraftwagen als Instrument der Klimapolitik im Verkehrssektor: Rationalität, Gestaltung und Wechselwirkung mit dem Emissionshandel," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 79(2), pages 160-178.
    13. Timilsina, Govinda R. & Dulal, Hari B., 2009. "Regulatory instruments to control environmental externalities from the transport sector," European Transport \ Trasporti Europei, ISTIEE, Institute for the Study of Transport within the European Economic Integration, issue 41, pages 80-112.
    14. repec:boi:isrerv:v:16:y:2019:i:2:p:1-36 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Timilsina, Govinda R. & Dulal, Hari B., 2009. "A review of regulatory instruments to control environmental externalities from the transport sector," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4867, The World Bank.
    16. Tryfonas Christodoulou & Sofronis Clerides, 2012. "Emissions-Based Vehicle Tax Reform for Cyprus: A Simulation Analysis," Cyprus Economic Policy Review, University of Cyprus, Economics Research Centre, vol. 6(1), pages 3-20, June.
    17. Malina, Christiane, 2016. "The environmental impact of vehicle circulation tax reform in Germany," CAWM Discussion Papers 86, University of Münster, Münster Center for Economic Policy (MEP).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Soren T. Anderson & Ian W. H. Parry & James M. Sallee & Carolyn Fischer, 2011. "Automobile Fuel Economy Standards: Impacts, Efficiency, and Alternatives," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 5(1), pages 89-108, Winter.
    2. Nicholas Rivers & Brandon Schaufele, 2017. "New vehicle feebates," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 50(1), pages 201-232, February.
    3. Santos, Georgina & Behrendt, Hannah & Maconi, Laura & Shirvani, Tara & Teytelboym, Alexander, 2010. "Part I: Externalities and economic policies in road transport," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 2-45.
    4. Martin, Elliott William, 2009. "New Vehicle Choice, Fuel Economy and Vehicle Incentives: An Analysis of Hybrid Tax Credits and the Gasoline Tax," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt5gd206wv, University of California Transportation Center.
    5. Martin, Elliot William, 2009. "New Vehicle Choices, Fuel Economy and Vehicle Incentives: An Analysis of Hybrid Tax Credits and Gasoline Tax," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt6sz198c2, University of California Transportation Center.
    6. Allcott, Hunt & Mullainathan, Sendhil & Taubinsky, Dmitry, 2014. "Energy policy with externalities and internalities," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 72-88.
    7. James M. Sallee, 2011. "The Taxation of Fuel Economy," Tax Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(1), pages 1-38.
    8. Changzheng Liu and David L. Greene, 2014. "Vehicle Manufacturer Technology Adoption and Pricing Strategies under Fuel Economy/Emissions Standards and Feebates," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3).
    9. Thomas Klier & Joshua Linn, 2011. "Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards and the Market for New Vehicles," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 445-462, October.
    10. Kenneth Gillingham & Karen Palmer, 2014. "Bridging the Energy Efficiency Gap: Policy Insights from Economic Theory and Empirical Evidence," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 8(1), pages 18-38, January.
    11. Clerides, Sofronis & Zachariadis, Theodoros, 2008. "The effect of standards and fuel prices on automobile fuel economy: An international analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 2657-2672, September.
    12. Chen, Anning, 2011. "Reliable GPS Integer Ambiguity Resolution," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt9gs0t2f9, University of California Transportation Center.
    13. Adamos Adamou & Sofronis Clerides & Theodoros Zachariadis, 2012. "Assessment of CO2-Oriented Vehicle Tax Reforms: A Case Study of Greece," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 04-2012, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
    14. Barla, Philippe & Proost, Stef, 2012. "Energy efficiency policy in a non-cooperative world," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 2209-2215.
    15. Yuanguang Yu, 2012. "An Optimal Ad Valorem Tax/Subsidy with an Output-Based Refunded Emission Payment for Permits Auction in an Oligopoly Market," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 52(2), pages 235-248, June.
    16. Peters, Anja & Mueller, Michel G. & de Haan, Peter & Scholz, Roland W., 2008. "Feebates promoting energy-efficient cars: Design options to address more consumers and possible counteracting effects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 1355-1365, April.
    17. Ian W. H. Parry & Margaret Walls & Winston Harrington, 2007. "Automobile Externalities and Policies," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(2), pages 373-399, June.
    18. Parry, Ian W.H., 2012. "Reforming the tax system to promote environmental objectives: An application to Mauritius," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 103-112.
    19. Brown, David P. & Eckert, Andrew & Eckert, Heather, 2018. "Carbon pricing with an output subsidy under imperfect competition: The case of Alberta's restructured electricity market," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 102-123.
    20. Brand, Christian & Anable, Jillian & Tran, Martino, 2013. "Accelerating the transformation to a low carbon passenger transport system: The role of car purchase taxes, feebates, road taxes and scrappage incentives in the UK," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 132-148.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:36:y:2008:i:8:p:3106-3114. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.