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Do electric vehicle incentives matter? Evidence from the 50 U.S. states

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  • Wee, Sherilyn
  • Coffman, Makena
  • La Croix, Sumner

Abstract

We estimate the effectiveness of policy incentives for adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the 50 U.S. states. We employ a rich dataset of semi-annual state-level new EV vehicle registrations by make and model from 2010 to 2015 and state-level policy instruments that could affect new EV model registrations. We construct two measures of policy, one which aggregates policy instruments that can be assigned a value and a second that aggregates those without explicit values. Using a within model difference-in-difference estimator with high-dimensional fixed effects, we find that a $1000 increase in the value of a state’s model-specific EV policies increases registrations of that model within the state by 5–11%.

Suggested Citation

  • Wee, Sherilyn & Coffman, Makena & La Croix, Sumner, 2018. "Do electric vehicle incentives matter? Evidence from the 50 U.S. states," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9), pages 1601-1610.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:47:y:2018:i:9:p:1601-1610
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2018.05.003
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Electric vehicles; State policy; Subsidies; Technology adoption;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • L98 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Government Policy
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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