Evidence of a Shift in the Short-Run Price Elasticity of Gasoline Demand

Understanding the sensitivity of gasoline demand to changes in prices and income has important implications for policies related to climate change, optimal taxation and national security, to name only a few. While the short-run price and income elasticities of gasoline demand in the United States have been studied extensively, the vast majority of these studies focus on consumer behavior in the 1970s and 1980s. There are a number of reasons to believe that current demand elasticities differ from these previous periods, as transportation analysts have hypothesized that behavioral and structural factors over the past several decades have changed the responsiveness of U.S. consumers to changes in gasoline prices. In this paper, we compare the price and income elasticities of gasoline demand in two periods of similarly high prices from 1975 to 1980 and 2001 to 2006. The short-run price elasticities differ considerably: and range from -0.034 to -0.077 during 2001 to 2006, versus -0.21 to -0.34 for 1975 to 1980. The estimated short-run income elasticities range from 0.21 to 0.75 and when estimated with the same models are not significantly different between the two periods.

Evidence of a shift in the short run price elasticity of gasoline demand

Understanding the sensitivity of gasoline demand to changes in prices and income has important implications for policies related to climate change, optimal taxation and national security, to name only a few. While the short-run price and income elasticities of gasoline demand in the United States have been studied extensively, the vast majority of these studies focus on consumer behavior in the 1970s and 1980s. There are a number of reasons to believe that current demand elasticities differ from these previous periods, as transportation analysts have hypothesized that behavioral and structural factors over the past several decades have changed the responsiveness of U.S. consumers to changes in gasoline prices. In this paper, we compare the price and income elasticities of gasoline demand in two periods of similarly high prices from 1975 to 1980 and 2001 to 2006. The short-run price elasticities differ considerably and range from -0.034 to -0.077 during 2001 to 2006, versus -0.21 to -0.34 for 1975 to 1980. The estimated short-run income elasticities range from 0.21 to 0.75 and when estimated with the same models are not significantly different between the two periods. One implication of these findings is that gasoline taxes would need to be significantly larger today in order to achieve an equivalent reduction in gasoline consumption. This, coupled with the political difficulties in adopting gasoline taxes, suggests that policies and technologies designed to improve fuel economy are likely becoming relatively more attractive as a means to reduce fuel consumption

Neural Correlates of Metamemory: A Comparison of Feeling-of-Knowing and Retrospective Confidence Judgments

Metamemory refers to knowledge and monitoring of one's own memory. Metamemory monitoring can be done prospectively with respect to subsequent memory retrieval or retrospectively with respect to previous memory retrieval. In this study, we used fMRI to compare neural activity during prospective feeling-of-knowing and retrospective confidence tasks in order to examine common and distinct mechanisms supporting multiple forms of metamemory monitoring. Both metamemory tasks, compared to non-metamemory tasks, were associated with greater activity in medial prefrontal, medial parietal, and lateral parietal regions, which have previously been implicated in internally directed cognition. Furthermore, compared to non-metamemory tasks, metamemory tasks were associated with less activity in occipital regions, and in lateral inferior frontal and dorsal medial prefrontal regions, which have previously shown involvement in visual processing and stimulus-oriented attention, respectively. Thus, neural activity related to metamemory is characterized by both a shift toward internally directed cognition and away from externally directed cognition. Several regions demonstrated differences in neural activity between feeling-of-knowing and confidence tasks, including fusiform, medial temporal lobe, and medial parietal regions; furthermore, these regions also showed interaction effects between task and the subjective metamemory rating, suggesting that they are sensitive to the information monitored in each particular task. These findings demonstrate both common and distinct neural mechanisms supporting metamemory processes and also serve to elucidate the functional roles of previously characterized brain networks.Psycholog

Tapped Out: Threats to the Human Right to Water in the Urban United States

In the United States today, the goal of universal water service is slipping out of reach. Water costs are rising across the country, forcing many individuals to forgo running water or sanitation, or to sacrifice other essential human rights. The fixed costs of water systems have increased in recent years, driven in part by underinvestment in infrastructure. In many cities, this has been exacerbated by population shifts and the economic downturn. In this era of increasing costs and limited financial resources, water providers struggle to balance the competing priorities of modernization and universal access. This report, researched and written by students of Georgetown Law’s Human Rights Institute in the winter of 2013, details the causes, effects, and solutions to the affordability crisis affecting water in the urban United States

Sustainable EV Market Incentives: Equitable Revenue-Neutral Incentives for Zero-emission Vehicles in the United States

The United States (US), under the Biden Administration, has set a goal of reaching a 50% sales share for zero-emission vehicles by 2030. The administration is pursuing a combination of aggressive fuel economy and greenhouse gas performance standards along with tax credits for consumers who purchase electric vehicles (EVs). Given the anticipated high costs of the EV transition and limited public funds, policy mechanisms that generate extra-budgetary funding are enticing. Feebates—where a fee charged on some purchases is used to offer a rebate for others—can serve as a self-sustaining tool. Feebates have been attempted at the state and federal level in the US but did not pass legislatures due to a lack of political support for levying a fee on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. However, as governments face increasing fiscal constraints, there is greater support for self- funding EV incentive programs. Feebate policies can provide certainty for both producers and consumers to facilitate a steady transition to sustainable transportation. This paper assesses the potential utility of feebates for shaping the US light-duty vehicle market. The analysis demonstrates that: (1) revenue-neutral incentive systems are possible and (2) revenue-neutrality can be achieved with relatively low fees on ICE vehicles to support economic equity among buyers. From an industry perspective, market certainty can be created by incorporating fuel economy targets into a fee schedule as pivot points and allocating fees to finance rebates. This would likely influence industry investment decisions in ways that increase EV production and model availability. View the NCST Project Webpag

Sustainable EV Market Incentives: Lessons Learned from European Feebates for a Zero Emissions Future

Strong policies are needed to accelerate the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) transition so that it occurs at a pace in line with international climate goals. The purchase price of new vehicles tends to be the variable that most affects consumer decisions. With urgency for a ZEV transition, fiscal pressure for governments can be high as rebates for consumers and incentives supporting manufacturers in the switch to ZEV technologies will be needed for a mass-market transition. Fees on high-polluting vehicles—and rebates on clean ones—have become an effective and increasingly common strategy in European countries. The feebate mechanism can raise the necessary capital for financing a ZEV transition in combination with other regulatory mechanisms. This paper reviews and assesses feebate design types, issues, and implementation strategies in France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. These examples show that feebates can be designed in a variety of ways to meet unique policy objectives and that periodic adjustments are helpful in achieving goals. Among twelve design considerations for an effective feebate, the authors find that: (1) focusing on a single fee parameter, such as CO2 emissions, can be a simple yet effective mechanism; (2) a continuous functional form for the fee and a stepwise rebate are likely to be most effective in driving EV adoption; and (3) pure feebates, where fee revenue funds EV incentives by program design, provide certainty for manufacturers, regulators, and consumers. View the NCST Project Webpag

Between control and participation: The politics of algorithmic management

Understanding the role of human management is crucial for the debate over algorithmic management—to date limited to studies on the platform economy. This qualitative case study in logistics reconstructs the actor constellations (managers, engineers, data scientists and workers) and negotiation processes in different phases of algorithmic management. It offers two major contributions to the literature: (1) a process model distinguishing three phases: goal formation, data production and data analysis, which is used to analyse (2) the politics of algorithmic management in conventional workplaces, which differ significantly from platform companies. The article goes beyond surveillance to elucidate the role of the regulatory framework, various actors' knowledge contributions to the algorithmic management system, and the power relations resulting therefrom. While the managerial goals in the examined case were not oriented towards a surveillance regime, the outcome was nevertheless a centralisation of knowledge and disempowerment of workers

Sustainable Market Incentives -- Lessons from European Feebates for a ZEV Future

Strong policies with sustainable incentives are needed to accelerate the EV transition. This paper assesses various feebate designs assessing recent policy evolution in five European countries. While there are key design elements that should be considered, there is no optimal feebate design. Different policy objectives could be served by feebates influencing its design and effectiveness. Using feebates to transition to EVs has emerged a key objective. With the financial sustainability of EV incentive programs being questioned, a self financing market mechanism could be the need of the hour solution. Irrespective of the policy goals, a feebate will impact both the supply side, i.e., the automotive industry and the consumer side. Globally, feebates can be used to effect technology leapfrogging while navigating the political economy of clean transportation policy in different country contexts. This paper highlights thirteen design elements of an effective feebate policy that can serve as a foundation for policymakers