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Who is Exposed to Gas Prices? How Gasoline Prices Affect Automobile Manufacturers and Dealerships

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Listed:
  • Meghan R. Busse
  • Christopher R. Knittel
  • Florian Zettelmeyer

Abstract

Many consumers are keenly aware of gasoline prices, and consumer responses to gasoline prices have been well studied. In this paper, by contrast, we investigate how gasoline prices affect the automobile industry: manufacturers and dealerships. We estimate how changes in gasoline prices affect equilibrium prices and sales of both new and used vehicles of different fuel economies. We investigate the implications of these effects for individual auto manufacturers, taking into account differences in manufacturers' vehicle portfolios. We also investigate effects on manufacturers' affiliated dealership networks, including effects implied by the changes in used vehicle market outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Meghan R. Busse & Christopher R. Knittel & Florian Zettelmeyer, 2012. "Who is Exposed to Gas Prices? How Gasoline Prices Affect Automobile Manufacturers and Dealerships," NBER Working Papers 18610, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18610
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Meghan R. Busse & Nathaniel O. Keohane, 2007. "Market effects of environmental regulation: coal, railroads, and the 1990 Clean Air Act," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 38(4), pages 1159-1179, December.
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    7. Meghan R. Busse & Christopher R. Knittel & Jorge Silva-Risso & Florian Zettelmeyer, 2016. "Who is exposed to gas prices? How gasoline prices affect automobile manufacturers and dealerships," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 41-95, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Christiane Baumeister & Lutz Kilian & Thomas K. Lee, 2017. "Inside the Crystal Ball: New Approaches to Predicting the Gasoline Price at the Pump," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(2), pages 275-295, March.
    2. Humera Iram & Abdul Rahim Ridzuan, 2025. "How sensitive are industrial demand and supply to energy price shocks," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 52(1), pages 221-239, March.
    3. Lu, Tingmingke, 2023. "Response of new car buyers to alternative energy policies: The role of vehicle use heterogeneity," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    4. Wang, Kai-Hua & Su, Chi-Wei & Xiao, Yidong & Liu, Lu, 2022. "Is the oil price a barometer of China's automobile market? From a wavelet-based quantile-on-quantile regression perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    5. McConnell, Virginia, 2013. "The New CAFE Standards: Are They Enough on Their Own?," RFF Working Paper Series dp-13-14, Resources for the Future.
    6. Liviana Tio & Purwanto, 2017. "The Influence of Crude Oil Price, Consumer Confidence, Exchange Rate and GDP Growth Rate Toward Sales Number of PT. Toyota Astra Motor, Indonesia," Noble International Journal of Business and Management Research, Noble Academic Publsiher, vol. 1(1), pages 49-54, January.
    7. Meghan R. Busse & Christopher R. Knittel & Jorge Silva-Risso & Florian Zettelmeyer, 2016. "Who is exposed to gas prices? How gasoline prices affect automobile manufacturers and dealerships," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 41-95, March.
    8. Abate, Megersa, 2014. "Does fuel price affect trucking industry’s network characteristics?: evidence from Denmark," Working papers in Transport Economics 2014:26, CTS - Centre for Transport Studies Stockholm (KTH and VTI).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior
    • L9 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities
    • Q4 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy

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