Modeling Energy and Non-energy Substitution – A Survey of Elasticities

Estimating the degree of substitution between energy and non-energy inputs is key for any evaluation of environmental and energy policies. Yet, given the large variety of substitution elasticities, the central question arises as to which measure would be most appropriate. Apparently, ALLEN’s elasticities of substitution have been the most-used measures in applied production analysis. In line with Frondel (2004), this paper argues that cross-price elasticities are preferable for many practical purposes. This conclusion is based on a survey of classical substitution measures, such as those from ALLEN, MORISHIMA, and MCFADDEN. The survey also highlights the fact that cross-price elasticities are their essential ingredients.Cross-price elasticities; Allen partial elasticities; Morishima elasticities

Assessing Voluntary Commitments: Monitoring is Not Enough!

This paper deals with a special type of voluntary approach to protect the environment, for example, that we would like to term voluntary commitment. Its major characteristic is that it represents a unilateral declaration without a decisively active role of regulators. In other words, voluntary commitments are, by definition, not the result of intensive mutual negotiations between participants and regulators. By combining theoretical considerations on the economic rationale for the popularity of voluntary commitments with an investigation of principal conceptual and statistical problems regarding their empirical assessment, it seems unlikely that voluntary commitments generally trigger significant deviations from business-as-usual. This casts doubt on the effectiveness and, hence, the efficiency of this specific type of voluntary approach. Effectiveness, guaranteed through more demanding goals, requires intensive mutual negotiations – monitoring is not enough. --Voluntary Agreements,Counterfactual,Evaluation

Re-Identifying the Rebound – What About Asymmetry?

Rebound eff ects measure the behaviorally induced off set in the reduction of energy consumption following effi ciency improvements. Using panel estimation methods and household travel diary data collected in Germany between 1997 and 2009, this study identifi es the rebound eff ect in private transport by allowing for the possibility that fuel price elasticities – from which rebound eff ects can be derived – are asymmetric. This approach rests on evidence that has emerged from the empirical literature suggesting that the response in individual travel demand to price increases is stronger than to decreases. Such an asymmetric response would necessitate reference to the fuel price elasticity derived from price decreases in order to identify the rebound eff ect, as the rebound occurs in response to a decrease in unit cost for car travel due to improved fuel effi ciency. While we fail to reject the hypothesis that the magnitude of the response to a price increase is equal to that of a price decrease, our rebound eff ect estimate for single-vehicle households of 58% is in line with a recent German study by Frondel, Peters, and Vance (2008).Automobile travel; panel estimation models

A Count Data Analysis of Ridership in Germany’s Public Transport

Focusing on adult members of German households, this paper investigates the determinants of public transit ridership with the aim of quantifying the effects of fuel prices, fares, person-level attributes, and characteristics of the transit system on transport counts over a five-day week. The reliance on individual data raises several conceptual and empirical issues, the most fundamental of which is the large proportion of zero values in transit counts. To accommodate this feature of the data, we employ modeling procedures referred to as zero-inflated models (ZIMs), which order observations into two latent regimes defined by whether the individual never uses public transport. Our estimates reveal fuel prices to have a positive and substantial influence on transit ridership, though there is no evidence for a statistically significant impact of the fare.Transit Ridership, Pricing Policy, Zero-Inflated Models, Household Data.

Future Pain at the Diesel Pump? Potential Eff ects of the European Commission’s Energy Taxation Proposal

The Energy Tax Directive recently proposed by the European Commission envisages to tax fuels based on their energy content. By raising prices for diesel to a level higher than that of petrol, this proposal would eliminate the price advantage currently enjoyed by diesel in most EU Member States. To explore the implications of such a tax regime for automobile travel, the present analysis undertakes a comparative analysis of price elasticities for both fuel types. Drawing on household panel data from Germany, we fail to reject the hypothesis that the fuel price elasticities for petrol and diesel are equal. With our uniform fuel price elasticity estimates being on the order of -0.5 to -0.42, the typical fi nding from the empirical literature that the elasticities gleaned from household-level data are generally larger than those from aggregate time-series data is reconfirmed.Fuel taxation; fuel price elasticities; household data; automobile travel; panel

The European Commission‘s Light Bulb Decree: Another Costly Regulation?

Since September 2009, Regulation 244/2009 of the European Commission enforces the gradual phase-out of incandescent light bulbs. As of September 2012, only energyefficient lighting sources will be allowed for sale. Among these are halogen light bulbs, light-emitting diodes (LED), or compact fluorescent light bulbs? often referred to as energy-saving light bulbs. The Commission’s justification for the phase-out of conventional light bulbs maintains that a reduction in the electricity consumed will not only lead to lower energy cost for private households and industrial consumers, but at the same time lead to a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. This article discusses possible reasons for the slow market diffusion of energy-saving light bulbs and shows that the investment in energy-efficient light bulbs does not necessarily lead to significant cost reductions. Drawing on some illustrative examples, we demonstrate that the use of cheaper incandescent bulbs instead of energy-saving light bulbs can be economically rational in cases of rather low usage times, in which the higher initial purchasing price might only pay off after very long time spans. Furthermore, due to the coexistence with the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), this regulation attains no additional emission reductions beyond those achieved by the ETS alone. We thus conclude that the general ban of incandescent light bulbs is inappropriate and should be abolished by the Commission.Energy efficiency; rebound effect

Fixed, Random, or Something in Between? – A Variant of HAUSMAN’s Specifi cation Test for Panel Data Estimators

This paper proposes a variant of the classical HAUSMAN specifi cation test commonly employed to decide whether the estimation of a random-eff ects model is a viable alternative to estimating fi xed eff ects. Whereas the classical test probes the equality of fi xed- and random eff ects, the proposed variant focuses on the equality of between-groups and fi xed-eff ects coeffi cients. While both test procedures lead to the same conclusions, the panel model specifi cation underlying our testing strategy facilitates the simultaneous estimation of the fi xed- and between-groups eff ects. As a consequence, we are able to examine both the equality of the whole range of coeffi cients as well as that of individual variables. The usefulness of the test is illustrated using a panel of household travel data for Germany.Specification tests, fuel price elasticity

Biodiesel: A New Oildorado?

Guaranteeing tax reductions and exemptions, the European governments intend to increase the share of biofuels in total EU fuel consumption to 5.75% by 2010. The financial support of this EU objective is frequently justified by expected positive environmental impacts, most notably the mitigation of climate change, and by favorable employment effects in the agricultural sector. This paper investigates the environmental and economic implications of the support of rapeseed-based biodiesel as a substitute for fossil diesel.Based on a survey of recent empirical studies, we find that the energy and greenhouse gas balances of this environmental strategy are clearly positive.Yet, its overall environmental balance is currently far from being unequivocally positive. Most importantly, biodiesel is not a cost-efficient emission abatement strategy.Thus, for the abatement of greenhouse gases,we recommend more efficient alternatives based on both renewable and conventional technologies.Renewable Energy, Environmental Policy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Do High Oil Prices Matter? – Evidence on the Mobility Behavior of German Households

Focusing on travel survey data from Germany, this paper investigates the determinants of automobile travel, with the specific aim of quantifying the effects of fuel prices and fuel economy. The analysis is predicated on the notion that car mileage is a two-stage decision process, comprising the discrete choice of whether to own a car and the continuous choice of distance traveled. To capture this process, we employ censored regression models consisting of Probit and OLS estimators, which allows us to gauge the extent to which sample selectivity may bias the results. Our elasticity estimates indicate a significant positive association between increased fuel economy and increased driving, and a significantly negative fuel-price elasticity, which ranges between –35% and –41%.Taken together, these results suggest that fuel taxes are likely to be a more effective policy measure in reducing emissions than fuelefficiency standards.Automobile travel, rebound effect, two-part model

Driving for Fun? – A Comparison of Weekdays and Weekend Travel

Focusing on individual motorists in car-owning households in Germany, this paper econometrically investigates the determinants of automobile travel with the specific aim of quantifying the effects of fuel prices and person-level attributes on travel conducted over a five-day week and weekend. Our analysis is predicated on the notion that car use is an individual decision, albeit one that is dependent on intra-household allocation processes, thereby building on a growing body of literature that has identified the importance of socioeconomic factors such as employment status, gender, and the presence of children in determining both access to the car and distance driven. To capture this two-stage decision process, we employ the Two-Part Model, which consists of Probit and OLS estimators, and derive elasticity estimates that incorporate both the discrete and continuous choices pertaining to car use.With fuel price elasticity estimates ranging between –0.42 and –0.48, our results suggest raising prices via fuel taxes to be a promising energy conservation and climate protection measure.Automobile travel, Two-Part Model, interaction effects