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Formative Experiences and the Price of Gasoline

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Listed:
  • Christopher Severen
  • Arthur van Benthem

Abstract

Formative experiences shape behavior for decades. We document a striking feature about those who came of driving age during the oil crises of the 1970s: they drive less in the year 2000. The effect is not specific to these cohorts; price variation over time and across states indicates that gasoline price changes between ages 15–18 generally shift later-life travel behavior. Effects are not explained by recessions, income, or costly skill acquisition and are inconsistent with recency bias, mental plasticity and standard habit-formation models. Instead, they likely reflect formation of preferences for driving or persistent changes in its perceived cost.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher Severen & Arthur van Benthem, 2019. "Formative Experiences and the Price of Gasoline," NBER Working Papers 26091, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26091
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Johan Gars & Daniel Spiro & Henrik Wachtmeister, 2022. "The effect of European fuel-tax cuts on the oil income of Russia," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 7(10), pages 989-997, October.
    3. Nicholas A Wright & Alvin Harris, 2023. "The labor market effects of gas price fluctuations," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 43(1), pages 328-341.
    4. Ver'onica Backer-Peral & Vitaly Meursault & Christopher Severen, 2025. "Can LLMs Credibly Transform the Creation of Panel Data from Diverse Historical Tables?," Papers 2505.11599, arXiv.org.
    5. Deutschmann, Joshua W., 2025. "Recognizing a good deal: Short-term subsidies and the dynamics of public service use," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    6. Mattauch, Linus & Hepburn, Cameron & Spuler, Fiona & Stern, Nicholas, 2022. "The economics of climate change with endogenous preferences," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    7. Mehic, Adrian, 2026. "Inventing Green: Environmental Shocks and the Long-Term Reorientation of Innovation," Working Paper Series 1552, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    8. Huang, Robert & Kahn, Matthew E., 2024. "An economic analysis of United States public transit carbon emissions dynamics," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    9. Christopher R. Knittel & Shinsuke Tanaka, 2019. "Driving Behavior and the Price of Gasoline: Evidence from Fueling-Level Micro Data," NBER Working Papers 26488, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Javier D. Donna, 2021. "Measuring long‐run gasoline price elasticities in urban travel demand," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 52(4), pages 945-994, December.
    11. Johan Gars & Daniel Spiro & Henrik Wachtmeister, 2022. "What is the effect of EU's fuel-tax cuts on Russia's oil income?," Papers 2204.03318, arXiv.org, revised May 2022.
    12. Eugenie Dugoua & Jacob Moscona, 2025. "The Economics of climate innovation: technology, climate policy, and the clean energy transition," CEP Discussion Papers dp2135, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    13. Lorenz Dögnitz & Théo Konc & Linus Mattauch, 2024. "The Political Economics of Green Transitions: Optimal Intertemporal Policy Response," Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers 0047, Berlin School of Economics.
    14. Knittel, Christopher R. & Tanaka, Shinsuke, 2021. "Fuel economy and the price of gasoline: Evidence from fueling-level micro data," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    15. Belloc, Ignacio & Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto, 2024. "The gasoline price and the commuting behavior of US commuters: Exploring changes to green travel mode choices," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    16. Ketter, Laura & Morris, Todd & Yu, Lizi, 2025. "A New Equilibrium: COVID-19 Lockdowns and WFH Persistence," IZA Discussion Papers 17975, IZA Network @ LISER.
    17. Ravi Vora & Guglielmo Zappala, 2025. "Endogenous Green Preferences," CESifo Working Paper Series 11857, CESifo.
    18. Delbosc, Alexa & McCarthy, Laura, 2021. "Pushed back, pulled forward: Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on young adults’ life plans and future mobility," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 43-51.
    19. Eugenie Dugoua & Jacob Moscona, 2025. "The Economics of Climate Innovation: Technology, Climate Policy, and the Clean Energy Transition," CESifo Working Paper Series 12267, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General
    • L91 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Transportation: General
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise

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