Artículo de revista
How effective are policies to reduce gasoline consumption? Evaluating a set of measures in Spain
Fecha
2013Registro en:
Energy Economics 42 (2014) 34–42
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2013.11.011
Autor
Asensio, Javier
Gómez-Lobo Echeñique, Andrés
Matas, Anna
Institución
Resumen
Using a panel of 48 provinces for four yearswe empirically analyze a series of temporary and permanent policies
aimed at curbing fuel consumption implemented in Spain between March and June 2011. The first policy was a
reduction in the speed limit in highways. The second policy was an increase in the biofuel content of fuels used in
the transport sector. The thirdmeasurewas a decrease of 5% in commuting and regional train fares that resulted
in twomajor metropolitan areas reducing their overall fare for public transit. The results indicate that the speed
limit reduction in highways lowered gasoline consumption by 2% to 3%, while an increase in the biofuel content
of gasoline increased this consumption. This last result is consistent with experimental evidence that indicates
that mileage per liter falls with an increase in the biofuel content in gasolines. As for the reduction in transit
fares, we do not find a significant effect for this policy. However, in specifications including the urban transit
fare for the major cities in each province the estimated cross-price elasticity of the demand for gasoline – used
as a proxy for car use – with respect to the price of transit is within the range reported in the literature. This is
important since one of the main efficiency justifications for subsidizing public transit rests on the positive
value of this parameter and most of the estimates reported in the literature are quite dated.