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Market and Social Welfare Effects of the Renewable Fuels Standard

In: Handbook of Bioenergy Economics and Policy

Author

Listed:
  • Amy W. Ando

    (University of Illinois)

  • Madhu Khanna

    (University of Illinois)

  • Farzad Taheripour

    (Purdue University)

Abstract

This chapter evaluates the welfare and greenhouse-gas effects of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in the presence of biofuel subsidies. In our numerical model, demand for gasoline and ethanol stems from consumer demand for driving miles, but all fuels have congestion and environmental external costs. Our estimates of the effects of ethanol mandates on greenhouse gases and social welfare (relative to the status quo) are sensitive to assumptions about the gasoline supply elasticity. The impact of the mandate, by itself, on greenhouse gas emissions ranges from −0.5 to −5% relative to the status quo and is reduced when the mandate is accompanied by a tax credit. The welfare costs of the mandate relative to the socially optimal policy range from $60 B to $115 B depending on the elasticity of gasoline supply. The provision of a tax credit in addition to the mandate leads to additional deadweight losses that range from $1.1 to $12 billion. An ethanol mandate policy provides assured demand for ethanol and therefore supports the domestic ethanol industry, particularly the cellulosic biofuel industry. However, such policy may harm the well-being of the country as a whole, even relative to the ethanol support policy that was in place before the current mandate was passed.

Suggested Citation

  • Amy W. Ando & Madhu Khanna & Farzad Taheripour, 2010. "Market and Social Welfare Effects of the Renewable Fuels Standard," Natural Resource Management and Policy, in: Madhu Khanna & Jürgen Scheffran & David Zilberman (ed.), Handbook of Bioenergy Economics and Policy, chapter 0, pages 233-250, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:nrmchp:978-1-4419-0369-3_14
    DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4419-0369-3_14
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ujjayant Chakravorty & Marie‐Hélène Hubert & Beyza Ural Marchand, 2019. "Food for fuel: The effect of the US biofuel mandate on poverty in India," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 10(3), pages 1153-1193, July.
    2. Ujjayant Chakravorty & Marie‐Hélène Hubert & Michel Moreaux & Linda Nøstbakken, 2017. "Long‐Run Impact of Biofuels on Food Prices," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 119(3), pages 733-767, July.
    3. Catherine Hausman & Maximilian Auffhammer & Peter Berck, 2012. "Farm Acreage Shocks and Crop Prices: An SVAR Approach to Understanding the Impacts of Biofuels," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 53(1), pages 117-136, September.
    4. Ujjayant Chakravorty & Marie-Helene Hubert & Michel Moreaux, 2014. "Land Allocation between Food and Energy," Frontiers of Economics in China-Selected Publications from Chinese Universities, Higher Education Press, vol. 9(1), pages 52-69, March.
    5. Chakravorty, Ujjayant & Hubert, Marie-Hélène & Moreaux, Michel & Nøstbakken, Linda, 2010. "Will Biofuel Mandates Raise Food Prices?," TSE Working Papers 10-212, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    6. Ujjayant Chakravorty & Marie-HéLène Hubert, 2013. "Global Impacts of the Biofuel Mandate under a Carbon Tax," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 95(2), pages 282-288.
    7. Krissana Treesilvattanakul & Farzad Taheripour & Wallace E. Tyner, 2014. "Application of US and EU Sustainability Criteria to Analysis of Biofuels-Induced Land Use Change," Energies, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-10, August.
    8. Lapan, Harvey & Moschini, GianCarlo, 2012. "Second-best biofuel policies and the welfare effects of quantity mandates and subsidies," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 224-241.
    9. Klotz, Richard & Bento, Antonio M. & Landry, Joel R., 2013. "Economic Insights Required for Using Lifecycle Analysis for Policy Decisions," 2014 Allied Social Sciences Association (ASSA) Annual Meeting, January 3-5, 2014, Philadelphia, PA 161654, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Antonio M. Bento, Richard Klotz, and Joel R. Landry, 2015. "Are there Carbon Savings from US Biofuel Policies? The Critical Importance of Accounting for Leakage in Land and Fuel Markets," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3).
    11. Ujjayant Chakravorty & Marie-Hélène Hubert & Michel Moreaux & Linda Nøstbakken, 2012. "Do Biofuel Mandates Raise Food Prices?," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes 1 & University of Caen) 201214, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes 1, University of Caen and CNRS.
    12. Vorotnikova, Ekaterina & Seale, James L, 2014. "U.S. Ethanol Mandate Is a Hidden Subsidy to Corn Producers," 2014 Annual Meeting, February 1-4, 2014, Dallas, Texas 162551, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.

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