IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/20754.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Accidental Environmentalists? Californian Demand for Teslas and Solar Panels

Author

Listed:
  • Magali A. Delmas
  • Matthew E. Kahn
  • Stephen Locke

Abstract

In the absence of a national carbon tax, household driving and electricity consumption impose social costs. Suburbanites drive more and consume more electricity than center city residents. If more suburbanites purchase electric vehicles (EV) and install solar panels, then their greenhouse gas emissions would sharply decrease. Using several data sets from California, we study the demand for electric vehicles and solar panels. We focus on the Tesla given its status as the highest quality EV. We investigate the joint distribution of the stock returns of Tesla and leading solar panel sellers to test for whether investors anticipate a complementarity in sales between these products. Finally, we use current and past vehicle quality and price data to explore trends in EV quality improvements due to industry competition between brands.

Suggested Citation

  • Magali A. Delmas & Matthew E. Kahn & Stephen Locke, 2014. "Accidental Environmentalists? Californian Demand for Teslas and Solar Panels," NBER Working Papers 20754, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20754
    Note: EEE PE
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w20754.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael I. Cragg & Yuyu Zhou & Kevin Gurney & Matthew E. Kahn, 2013. "Carbon Geography: The Political Economy Of Congressional Support For Legislation Intended To Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Production," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(2), pages 1640-1650, April.
    2. Huang, Chung L, 1996. "Consumer Preferences and Attitudes towards Organically Grown Produce," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Foundation for the European Review of Agricultural Economics, vol. 23(3), pages 331-342.
    3. Glaeser, Edward L. & Kahn, Matthew E., 2004. "Sprawl and urban growth," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 56, pages 2481-2527, Elsevier.
    4. Hunt Allcott & Nathan Wozny, 2014. "Gasoline Prices, Fuel Economy, and the Energy Paradox," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(5), pages 779-795, December.
    5. Arthur van Benthem & Kenneth Gillingham & James Sweeney, 2008. "Learning-by-Doing and the Optimal Solar Policy in California," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3), pages 131-152.
    6. Anderson, Michael L. & Auffhammer, Maximillian, 2014. "Pounds that Kill," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt0s47p33c, University of California Transportation Center.
    7. Matthew J. Kotchen, 2006. "Green Markets and Private Provision of Public Goods," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 114(4), pages 816-845, August.
    8. Sawhney, Aparna & Kahn, Matthew E., 2012. "Understanding cross-national trends in high-tech renewable power equipment exports to the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 308-318.
    9. Graff Zivin, Joshua S. & Kotchen, Matthew J. & Mansur, Erin T., 2014. "Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of marginal emissions: Implications for electric cars and other electricity-shifting policies," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 107(PA), pages 248-268.
    10. Severin Borenstein, 2012. "The Private and Public Economics of Renewable Electricity Generation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(1), pages 67-92, Winter.
    11. Matthew J. Holian & Matthew E. Kahn, 2014. "Household Demand for Low Carbon Public Policies: Evidence from California," NBER Working Papers 19965, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Chung L. Huang & Biing-Hwan Lin, 2007. "A Hedonic Analysis of Fresh Tomato Prices among Regional Markets," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 29(4), pages 783-800.
    13. Amil Petrin, 2002. "Quantifying the Benefits of New Products: The Case of the Minivan," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(4), pages 705-729, August.
    14. Michael L. Anderson & Maximilian Auffhammer, 2014. "Pounds That Kill: The External Costs of Vehicle Weight," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 81(2), pages 535-571.
    15. Jerry A. Hausman, 1979. "Individual Discount Rates and the Purchase and Utilization of Energy-Using Durables," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(1), pages 33-54, Spring.
    16. Maguire, Kelly B. & Owens, Nicole N. & Simon, Nathalie B., 2004. "The Price Premium for Organic Babyfood: A Hedonic Analysis," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 29(1), pages 1-18, April.
    17. Rosen, Sherwin, 1974. "Hedonic Prices and Implicit Markets: Product Differentiation in Pure Competition," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(1), pages 34-55, Jan.-Feb..
    18. Nathaniel Baum-Snow, 2007. "Did Highways Cause Suburbanization?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 122(2), pages 775-805.
    19. Bryan Bollinger & Kenneth Gillingham, 2012. "Peer Effects in the Diffusion of Solar Photovoltaic Panels," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(6), pages 900-912, November.
    20. Margo, Robert A., 1992. "Explaining the postwar suburbanization of population in the United States: The role of income," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 301-310, May.
    21. Kenneth Gillingham, Matthew Harding, and David Rapson, 2012. "Split Incentives in Residential Energy Consumption," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2).
    22. Kotchen, Matthew J. & Moore, Michael R., 2007. "Private provision of environmental public goods: Household participation in green-electricity programs," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 1-16, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Back to Research
      by Matthew Kahn in Environmental and Urban Economics on 2015-03-18 02:37:00
    2. An Economic Analysis of California's GHG Reductions Goals
      by Matthew Kahn in Environmental and Urban Economics on 2015-04-30 01:52:00
    3. Weitzman on "When does the world wake up and address climate change?"
      by Matthew Kahn in Environmental and Urban Economics on 2015-06-04 20:50:00
    4. The Economics of Red State vs. Blue State Carbon Politics
      by Matthew Kahn in Environmental and Urban Economics on 2015-10-23 18:40:00
    5. U.S Climate Politics: An Economist's Perspective
      by Matthew Kahn in Environmental and Urban Economics on 2016-01-05 22:05:00
    6. Does the Tesla + Solar City Merger = A Big Green Lobbying Machine?
      by Matthew Kahn in Environmental and Urban Economics on 2016-08-05 22:04:00
    7. Announcing the Formation of Climate Economics: A New Climate Resilience Consulting Firm
      by Matthew E. Kahn in Environmental and Urban Economics on 2020-10-08 18:28:00

    Citations

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


    Cited by:

    1. Matthew J. Holian & Matthew E. Kahn, 2015. "Household Demand for Low Carbon Policies: Evidence from California," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(2), pages 205-234.

    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. Delmas, Magali A. & Kahn, Matthew E. & Locke, Stephen L., 2017. "The private and social consequences of purchasing an electric vehicle and solar panels: Evidence from California," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 225-235.
    2. Todd D. Gerarden & Richard G. Newell & Robert N. Stavins, 2017. "Assessing the Energy-Efficiency Gap," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(4), pages 1486-1525, December.
    3. Kahn, Matthew E. & Walsh, Randall, 2015. "Cities and the Environment," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 405-465, Elsevier.
    4. Todd D. Gerarden & Richard G. Newell & Robert N. Stavins & Robert C. Stowe, 2015. "An Assessment of the Energy-Efficiency Gap and its Implications for Climate-Change Policy," NBER Working Papers 20905, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Lucas W. Davis & James M. Sallee, 2020. "Should Electric Vehicle Drivers Pay a Mileage Tax?," Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 65-94.
    6. Delmas, Magali A. & Grant, Laura E., 2008. "Eco-Labeling Strategies: The Eco-Premium Puzzle In The Wine Industry," Working Papers 37325, American Association of Wine Economists.
    7. Crago, Christine Lasco & Chernyakhovskiy, Ilya, 2017. "Are policy incentives for solar power effective? Evidence from residential installations in the Northeast," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 132-151.
    8. Schleich, Joachim & Gassmann, Xavier & Faure, Corinne & Meissner, Thomas, 2016. "Making the implicit explicit: A look inside the implicit discount rate," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 321-331.
    9. Mathias Reynaert, 2021. "Abatement Strategies and the Cost of Environmental Regulation: Emission Standards on the European Car Market," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 88(1), pages 454-488.
    10. Stefan Lamp, 2023. "Sunspots That Matter: The Effect of Weather on Solar Technology Adoption," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 84(4), pages 1179-1219, April.
    11. Ma, Chunbo & Polyakov, Maksym & Pandit, Ram, 2015. "Solar Capitalization in Western Australian Property Market," Working Papers 199230, University of Western Australia, School of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    12. Andreas Mense, 2018. "The Value of Energy Efficiency and the Role of Expected Heating Costs," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 71(3), pages 671-701, November.
    13. Dastrup, Samuel R. & Graff Zivin, Joshua & Costa, Dora L. & Kahn, Matthew E., 2012. "Understanding the Solar Home price premium: Electricity generation and “Green” social status," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(5), pages 961-973.
    14. Alessandro Bonanno, 2016. "A Hedonic Valuation of Health and Nonhealth Attributes in the U.S. Yogurt Market," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(3), pages 299-313, July.
    15. Edward C. Jaenicke & Andrea C. Carlson, 2015. "Estimating and Investigating Organic Premiums for Retail‐Level Food Products," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(4), pages 453-471, October.
    16. Brucal, Arlan & Roberts, Michael J., 2019. "Do energy efficiency standards hurt consumers? Evidence from household appliance sales," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 88-107.
    17. Koichiro Ito & James M. Sallee, 2018. "The Economics of Attribute-Based Regulation: Theory and Evidence from Fuel Economy Standards," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(2), pages 319-336, May.
    18. Geir H. M. Bjertnaes, 2017. "The Efficient Combination of Taxes on Fuel and Vehicles," CESifo Working Paper Series 6789, CESifo.
    19. Francis Ostermeijer & Hans R A Koster & Jos van Ommeren & Victor Mayland Nielsen, 2022. "Automobiles and urban density [Urban spatial structure]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(5), pages 1073-1095.
    20. Teulings, Coen N. & Ossokina, Ioulia V. & de Groot, Henri L.F., 2018. "Land use, worker heterogeneity and welfare benefits of public goods," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 67-82.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • R4 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:nbr:nberwo:20754. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    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.