AUTOMAKERS' SHORT-RUN RESPONSES TO CHANGING GASOLINE PRICES

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Langer, Ashley; Miller, Nathan H.
• 署名单位: University of Arizona
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/REST_a_00297
• 发表日期: 2013-10
• 页码: 1198-1211
• 关键词: demand; STANDARDS; PRODUCTS; MARKET; cars; OIL

摘要

We provide empirical evidence that automobile manufacturers use cash incentives to offset how gasoline price fluctuations affect the expected fuel expenses of automobile buyers. Regressions based on a database of incentives over 2003 to 2006 suggest that on average, manufacturers offset 40% of the change in relative fuel costs between vehicles due to gasoline price fluctuations. The results highlight that carbon taxes and emissions trading programs likelywould generate substantial substitution within vehicle classes, and studies that ignore manufacturer discounting likely underestimate consumer demand for fuel economy. The results also have implications for the optimal design of feebate programs.