Formative Experiences and the Price of Gasoline

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Severen, Christopher; Van Benthem, Arthur A.
• 署名单位: Federal Reserve System - USA; Federal Reserve Bank - Philadelphia; University of Pennsylvania; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.20200407
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 256-284
• 关键词: evolution

摘要

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.