Vehicle Miles (Not) Traveled: Why Fuel Economy Requirements Don't Increase Household Driving

Jeremy West, Mark Hoekstra, Jonathan Meer and Steven Puller ()

No 21194, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: A major concern with addressing the negative externalities of gasoline consumption by regulating fuel economy, rather than increasing fuel taxes, is that households respond by driving more. This paper exploits a discrete threshold in the eligibility for Cash for Clunkers to show that fuel economy restrictions lead households to purchase vehicles that have lower cost-per-mile, but are also smaller and lower-performance. Whereas the former effect can increase driving, the latter effect can reduce it. Results indicate these households do not drive more, suggesting that behavioral responses do not necessarily undermine the effectiveness of fuel economy restrictions at reducing gasoline consumption.

JEL-codes: L91 Q41 Q48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-tre
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published as Jeremy West, Mark Hoekstra, Jonathan Meer, Steven L. Puller, Vehicle miles (not) traveled: Fuel economy requirements, vehicle characteristics, and household driving, Journal of Public Economics, Volume 145, 2017, Pages 65-81, ISSN 0047-2727, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2016.09.009.

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