On the role of regulatory standards: Specification and some empirical evidence from motor vehicle fuel economy

This paper proposes a simple model to evaluate the role of regulatory controls. It is formulated so as to enable drawing empirical conclusions on the basis of usual hypothesis tests. Three potential roles of standards are examined they can act as penalties for non-compliant firms, as norms to which all firms converge, and as controls with cumulative impact over time. I test this specification focusing on automobile fuel economy (CAFE) standards that have been imposed in the US since 1978, using annual data from each major auto manufacturer. Results show that CAFE rules, functioning mainly as penalties, have been an important determinant of car fuel consumption. The hypothesis that standards acted also as norms is rejected. Finally, the automobile industry as a whole became less constrained by regulations over the years because of stagnating CAFE standards since 1990 and progress in vehicle technology.

An Empirical analysis of electricity consumption in Cyprus

The paper presents the first empirical analysis of electricity consumption in Cyprus. Using annual data from 1960 to 2004, we have examined electricity use in the residential and the services sectors, which are the fastest-growing electricity consumers in the island, and its interaction with income, prices and the weather. The analysis was performed with the aid of time series analysis techniques such as unit root tests with and without a structural break in levels, cointegration tests, Vector Error Correction models, Granger causality tests and impulse response functions. Results show long-term elasticities of electricity use above unity for income, and of the order of -0.3 to -0.4 for prices. In the short term electricity consumption is rather inelastic, mostly affected by weather fluctuations. Granger causality tests confirm exogeneity of electricity prices and bidirectional causality between residential electricity consumption and private income. The commercial sector is less elastic and reverts faster to equilibrium than the residential sector. Despite the relatively small sample size, results reported here are quite robust and can be used for forecasts and policy analyses.unit root, structural break, cointegration, Granger causality, impulse response

Designing Carbon Taxation Schemes for Automobiles: A Simulation Exercise for Germany

Vehicle taxation based on CO2 emissions is increasingly being adopted worldwide in order to shift consumer purchases to low-carbon cars, yet little is known about the effectiveness and overall economic impact of these schemes. We focus on feebate schemes, which impose a fee on high-carbon vehicles and give a rebate to purchasers of low-carbon automobiles. We estimate a discrete choice model of demand for automobiles in Germany and simulate the impact of alternative feebate schemes on emissions, consumer welfare, public revenues and firm profits. The analysis shows that a well-designed scheme can lead to emission reductions without reducing overall welfare.CO2 emissions, German automobile market, feebates, carbon taxation

Designing Carbon Taxation Schemes for Automobiles: A Simulation Exercise for Germany

Vehicle taxation based on CO2 emissions is increasingly being adopted worldwide in order to shift consumer purchases to low-carbon cars, yet little is known about the effectiveness and overall economic impact of these schemes. We focus on feebate schemes, which impose a fee on high-carbon vehicles and give a rebate to purchasers of low-carbon automobiles. e estimate a discrete choice model of demand for automobiles in Germany and simulate the impact of alternative feebate schemes on emissions, consumer welfare, public revenues and firm profits. The analysis shows that a well-designed scheme can lead to emission reductions without reducing overall welfare.CO2 emissions, German Automobile Market, Feebates, Carbon Taxation

Transport consumption inequalities and redistributive effects of taxes: A comparison of France, Denmark and Cyprus

We evaluate household transport consumption inequalities in France, Denmark and Cyprus, investigate their temporal dynamics and estimate the redistributive effects of taxes on different commodity categories. A comparative analysis is carried out in light of the differences between these countries, most notably in terms of car taxation systems and car ownership levels. A decomposition by expenditure component of the Gini index is applied, using household-level data from repeated cross-sections of expenditure surveys spanning long time periods. The results highlight the effect of car social diffusion. The relative contribution of vehicle use items to total expenditure inequality decreases over time, thus reflecting the more and more widespread use of the car. Moreover, fuel taxes become regressive (i.e. they affect the poor more than the rich), while the progressive character of taxes on the remaining car use commodities weakens with time. Taxes on transport goods and services as a whole are progressive (i.e. they affect the rich more than the poor). However, this is principally due to the progressivity of taxes on automobile purchases. The progressivity of taxes on car purchases is by far much stronger in Denmark. In this country, these taxes are so high that car purchase costs can be afforded only by high incomes. These findings underline the fact that equity issues should not be overlooked when designing policies to attenuate the environmental impact of cars. Increasing car use costs, notably fuel prices, through an increase of uniform taxes would be particularly inequitable.Inequality; transport consumption; household expenditure surveys; Gini index; decomposition by component; redistributive effects of taxes

Evolution of fuel consumption in Europe

A recent study has revised the assumptions and the fuel economy values for the baseline scenarios used to predict fuel consumption evolution in Europe. Considering historical developments and observable future trends, the estimated fuel consumption values for the coming decades result higher than those assumed by previous studies

Προς ένα νέο σύστημα φορολόγησης των αυτοκινήτων

Η πρόσφατη αναθεώρηση της φορολογίας αυτοκινήτων, παρά τα θετικά της στοιχεία, αναμένεται να οδηγήσει σε ζήτηση για περισσότερα και μεγαλύτερα αυτοκίνητα. Ελλείψει αξιόλογου συστήματος δημόσιων μεταφορών, αυτό μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε επιδείνωση της κυκλοφοριακής συμφόρησης και της κατανάλωσης καυσίμων στα αστικά κέντρα. Με βάση επίσημα στοιχεία που παρατίθενται στο παρόν σχόλιο, προκύπτει ότι η διαφοροποίηση του φόρου ανάλογα με τις εκπομπές διοξειδίου του άνθρακα κάθε αυτοκινήτου θα έχει μάλλον μικρή επίδραση στις προτιμήσεις των καταναλωτών. Καταλήγουμε με μια πρόταση για μελλοντική αναθεώρηση της φορολογίας, έτσι ώστε να μην αδικούνται κάποιες κατηγορίες αυτοκινήτων από την κλιμακωτή φορολόγηση, να επιβραβεύονται τα τεχνολογικά προηγμένα οχήματα που έχουν τη μικρότερη κατανάλωση καυσίμου στην κατηγορία τους και να ευνοείται με ισχυρά κίνητρα η μαζική απόσυρση παλαιών αυτοκινήτων

Introduction

Transportation is a major contributor to global energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for about one fourth of total energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions worldwide. Together with power generation, it is the fastest growing sector in the world. But unlike power generation, whose emissions may be easier to control because they come from a few thousand power plants around the world and because low-carbon or zero-carbon energy sources are already available on a large scale, transport emissions are created by the individual tailpipes of more than one billion motor vehicles (mostly passenger cars) as well as from fuel combustion in airplanes and ships, depending almost entirely on petroleum products with still limited low-carbon alternatives. The global car population is projected to exceed two billion by the year 2050, mainly due to increased car ownership in China, India and other rapidly growing economies (IEA 2009, Sperling and Gordon 2010). And car travel is among the economic activities that are least responsive to price changes: increased mobility improves the standard of living, and automobiles are associated with freedom and comfort. Most citizens of the world wish to have the opportunity to use a car – but can this wish be made compatible with the increasingly strained carrying capacity of the earth and the associated climate challenges