Energy policies for passenger motor vehicles

Kenneth Small ()

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2012, vol. 46, issue 6, 874-889

Abstract: This paper assesses the costs and effectiveness of several energy policies for light-duty motor vehicles in the United States, using a version of the National Energy Modeling System. The policies addressed are higher fuel taxes, tighter vehicle efficiency standards, and financial subsidies and penalties for the purchase of high- and low-efficiency vehicles (feebates). I find that tightening fuel-efficiency standards beyond those currently mandated through 2016, or imposing feebates designed to accomplish similar changes, can achieve by 2030 reductions in energy use by all light-duty passenger vehicles of 7.1–8.4%. A stronger feebate policy has somewhat greater effects, but at a significantly higher unit cost. High fuel taxes, on the order of $2.00 per gallon (2007$), have somewhat greater effects, arguably more favorable cost-effectiveness ratios, and produce their effects much more quickly because they affect the usage rate of both new and used vehicles. Policy costs vary greatly with assumptions about the reason for the apparent myopia commonly observed in consumer demand for fuel efficiency, and with the inclusion or exclusion of ancillary costs of congestion, local air pollution, and accidents.

Keywords: Fuel efficiency; Light-duty vehicles; Energy policy; Greenhouse gases; Feebate; Fuel tax (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (38)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856412000353
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
Working Paper: Energy Policies for Passenger Motor Vehicles (2011)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:transa:v:46:y:2012:i:6:p:874-889

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
https://shop.elsevie ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2012.02.017

Access Statistics for this article

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice is currently edited by John (J.M.) Rose

More articles in Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().