Do Americans consume too little natural gas? An empirical test of marginal cost pricing

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Davis, Lucas W.; Muehlegger, Erich
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Berkeley; National Bureau of Economic Research; Harvard University
• 刊物名称: RAND JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0741-6261
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1756-2171.2010.00121.x
• 发表日期: 2010
• 页码: 791-810
• 关键词: competition

摘要

This article measures the extent to which prices exceed marginal costs in the U.S. natural gas distribution market during the period 1991-2007. We find large departures from marginal cost pricing in all 50 states, with residential and commercial customers facing average markups of over 40%. Based on conservative estimates of the price elasticity of demand, these distortions impose hundreds of millions of dollars of annual welfare loss. Moreover, current price schedules are an important preexisting distortion which should be taken into account when evaluating carbon taxes and other policies aimed at addressing external costs.