CAFE standards – Knowledge Problem

Federal Government is Trying to Fix Your Car-buying Mistakes

2 Comments / Energy markets, Regulation / By Michael Giberson

Michael Giberson One of the federal government’s first oil conservation ideas, initiated during the Ford presidency, was Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulation. Mostly the goal was to reduce U.S. consumption of oil as a way to reduce oil imports, though ancillary environmental benefits were also anticipated. Regulatory analysis of CAFE regulations over the near …

Federal Government is Trying to Fix Your Car-buying Mistakes Read More »

Well, in That Case I Favor Higher Automobile Fuel Economy Standards

2 Comments / Energy markets, Environmental policy, Politics / By Michael Giberson

Michael Giberson Gasoline prices are relatively high and we’re well into the 2012 political campaign, so that means we have presidential wannabees and a wannabee-reelected promising to pass out candy to voters faster than a newly split piñata. In North Carolina yesterday President Obama announced a $1 billion initiative for a “National Community Deployment Challenge …

Well, in That Case I Favor Higher Automobile Fuel Economy Standards Read More »

Raising Mpg Standards, Part 2: Morris Well Explains the Relative Advantages of Raising the Gasoline Tax

2 Comments / Energy markets, Environmental policy, Regulation, Transportation / By Michael Giberson

Michael Giberson At the Freakonomics blog, transportation scholar Eric Morris favors President Obama’s recent deal to dramatically raise CAFE standards (Corporate Automobile Fuel Economy standards) by 2025. A gasoline tax would be far superior public policy, he said, but it won’t work politically. Because he thinks CAFE standards do work, technically and politically, he said we should go with …

Raising Mpg Standards, Part 2: Morris Well Explains the Relative Advantages of Raising the Gasoline Tax Read More »

Kazman on Cafe Regulations

8 Comments / Economics, Energy markets, Environmental policy, Regulation / By Michael Giberson

Michael Giberson Sam Kazman, of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, opines on the loss of spare tires in some new car models: Fewer tires, higher taxes. That may be what’s in store for drivers under the federal government’s spiraling fuel economy mandates (known as CAFE, for Corporate Average Fuel Economy). The Department of Transportation is floating …

Kazman on Cafe Regulations Read More »

A Problem with Market-Based Approaches to Emission Reductions

3 Comments / Energy markets, Environmental policy / By Michael Giberson

Michael Giberson Market-based approaches to regulating emissions are the new conventional wisdom, according to Robert Stavins, and it would be hard to disagree. Among proponents of regulating greenhouse gasses in the United States, the big debate is over which of two market-based approaches to regulating emissions should be pursued: emission tax or cap-and-trade. Is anyone …

A Problem with Market-Based Approaches to Emission Reductions Read More »

Martin Feldstein in Wsj on “Tradeable Gasoline Rights”

6 Comments / Economics, Energy markets, Environmental policy / By Lynne Kiesling

Lynne Kiesling Martin Feldstein has a column in today’s WSJ (subscription required) in which he recommends that the government issue tradeable gasoline rights (TGRs) instead of either raising CAFE standards or imposing a gasoline tax. In a system of tradeable gasoline rights, the government would give each adult a TGR debit card. The gasoline pumps …

Martin Feldstein in Wsj on “Tradeable Gasoline Rights” Read More »