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Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards and the Market for New Vehicles

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Klier

    (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60604)

  • Joshua Linn

    (Resources for the Future, Washington, DC 20036)

Abstract

This article presents an overview of the economics literature on the effect of corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards on the new vehicle market. Since 1978, CAFE has imposed fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. market. This article reviews the history of the standards, followed by a discussion of the major upcoming changes in implementation and stringency. It describes strategies that firms can use to meet the standards and reviews the CAFE literature as it applies to the new vehicle market. The review concludes by highlighting areas for future research in light of the upcoming changes to CAFE.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Klier & Joshua Linn, 2011. "Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards and the Market for New Vehicles," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 445-462, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:anr:reseco:v:3:y:2011:p:445-462
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Banban & Pizer, William A. & Munnings, Clayton, 2022. "Price limits in a tradable performance standard," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    2. Kim, Jinwon, 2012. "Endogenous vehicle-type choices in a monocentric city," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 749-760.
    3. Durrmeyer, Isis & Samano, Mario, 2016. "To Rebate or Not to Rebate: Fuel Economy Standards vs. Feebates?," TSE Working Papers 16-732, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised May 2017.
    4. Wu, Jingwen & Zhang, Tong & Liao, Hua, 2024. "Fuel economy standards: Regulatory loopholes and firms’ heterogeneous responses," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    5. Ullman, Darin F., 2016. "A difficult road ahead: Fleet fuel economy, footprint-based CAFE compliance, and manufacturer incentives," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 94-105.
    6. Wang, Yiwei & Miao, Qing, 2021. "The impact of the corporate average fuel economy standards on technological changes in automobile fuel efficiency," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    CAFE; costs; structural estimation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics
    • L5 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy

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