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Consumer Valuation of Fuel Economy: Findings from Recent Panel Studies

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  • Heather Klemick
  • Elizabeth Kopits
  • Ann Wolverton

Abstract

Engineering-based studies of energy efficiency often find that firms and consumers fail to adopt technologies that appear to provide net private benefits absent regulation. We examine the recent empirical literature on the extent to which expected future fuel costs are reflected in vehicle prices and therefore valued by consumers when making purchase decisions. These studies improve upon the prior literature due to their use of highly disaggregated panel data that allows for defensible identification strategies. These studies found that vehicle purchase prices reflect about 50 to 100 percent of future fuel expenses, assuming static consumer expectations about future gasoline prices and a discount rate of five to six percent. Recent regulatory analyses have estimated the benefits of more stringent vehicle standards implicitly assuming that no improvements in fuel economy will occur in the baseline, absent regulation. This assumption is consistent with consumers placing no value on future fuel costs when making vehicle purchase decision. The recent empirical evidence supports using a range of consumer valuation assumptions and applying this range consistently in the baseline and regulatory scenarios when modeling consumer purchase and firm investment decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Heather Klemick & Elizabeth Kopits & Ann Wolverton, 2019. "Consumer Valuation of Fuel Economy: Findings from Recent Panel Studies," NCEE Working Paper Series 201902, National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
  • Handle: RePEc:nev:wpaper:wp201902
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    File URL: https://www.epa.gov/environmental-economics/consumer-valuation-fuel-economy-findings-recent-panel-studies
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anderson, Soren T. & Kellogg, Ryan & Sallee, James M., 2013. "What do consumers believe about future gasoline prices?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 383-403.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Consumer valuation; fuel economy; vehicle purchase decisions; benefit-cost analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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