IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v129y2019icp467-480.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The energy paradox in seemingly competitive industries: The use of energy-efficient equipment on heavy-duty tractor trailers

Author

Listed:
  • Fraas, Arthur G.
  • Lutter, Randall W.
  • Wietelman, Derek C.

Abstract

Several federal agencies claim the existence of an energy paradox in competitive markets in their benefit-cost analyses: firms fail to use energy-saving equipment that on net would reduce their costs. Such findings appear incompatible with neoclassical views that private firms in competitive markets will seek to minimize costs. EPA and NHTSA (2016) justify their findings in part by claiming that owners of trailers pulled by others underinvest in energy-saving equipment because the trailer owners incur the costs of such investments while tractor owners get the benefits. We collected roadside data over three summers and model use of energy-saving equipment on trailers. We find associations consistent with cost-reducing behavior in the use of energy efficiency devices, such as skirts and automatic tire inflation devices, but no evidence that different ownership of tractors and trailers is associated with reduced use of energy-saving equipment on trailers. We recommend that EPA and NHTSA assess the in-use cost-effectiveness of such equipment and rigorously review the empirical basis for claims of market failures in competitive markets before claiming significant private economic gains in rulemakings.

Suggested Citation

  • Fraas, Arthur G. & Lutter, Randall W. & Wietelman, Derek C., 2019. "The energy paradox in seemingly competitive industries: The use of energy-efficient equipment on heavy-duty tractor trailers," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 467-480.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:129:y:2019:i:c:p:467-480
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.01.048
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421519300497
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.01.048?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Boyd, Gale A. & Curtis, E. Mark, 2014. "Evidence of an “Energy-Management Gap” in U.S. manufacturing: Spillovers from firm management practices to energy efficiency," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 463-479.
    2. Todd D. Gerarden & Richard G. Newell & Robert N. Stavins, 2017. "Assessing the Energy-Efficiency Gap," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(4), pages 1486-1525, December.
    3. Vernon, David & Meier, Alan, 2012. "Identification and quantification of principal–agent problems affecting energy efficiency investments and use decisions in the trucking industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 266-273.
    4. Hunt Allcott & Michael Greenstone, 2012. "Is There an Energy Efficiency Gap?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(1), pages 3-28, Winter.
    5. Ted Gayer & W. Viscusi, 2013. "Overriding consumer preferences with energy regulations," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 248-264, June.
    6. Jerry A. Hausman, 1979. "Individual Discount Rates and the Purchase and Utilization of Energy-Using Durables," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(1), pages 33-54, Spring.
    7. Klemick, Heather & Kopits, Elizabeth & Wolverton, Ann & Sargent, Keith, 2015. "Heavy-duty trucking and the energy efficiency paradox: Evidence from focus groups and interviews," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 154-166.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Turner, Elizabeth H. & Thompson, Mark A., 2023. "Further evidence on the financial impact of environmental regulations on the trucking industry," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 134-143.
    2. Manman Wang & Shuai Lian & Shi Yin & Hengmin Dong, 2020. "A Three-Player Game Model for Promoting the Diffusion of Green Technology in Manufacturing Enterprises from the Perspective of Supply and Demand," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-26, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fraas, Arthur G. & Lutter, Randall W. & Wietelman, Derek, 2019. "The Energy Paradox in Seemingly Competitive Industries: The Use of Energy-Efficient Equipment on Heavy-Duty Tractor Trailers," RFF Working Paper Series 19-08, Resources for the Future.
    2. Kube, Roland & von Graevenitz, Kathrine & Löschel, Andreas & Massier, Philipp, 2019. "Do voluntary environmental programs reduce emissions? EMAS in the German manufacturing sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(S1).
    3. Gale A. Boyd & Jonathan M. Lee, 2020. "Relative Effectiveness of Energy Efficiency Programs versus Market Based Climate Policies in the Chemical Industry," The Energy Journal, , vol. 41(3), pages 39-62, May.
    4. Dimitris Damigos & Christina Kaliampakou & Anastasios Balaskas & Lefkothea Papada, 2021. "Does Energy Poverty Affect Energy Efficiency Investment Decisions? First Evidence from a Stated Choice Experiment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-17, March.
    5. Cohen, François & Glachant, Matthieu & Söderberg, Magnus, 2017. "Consumer myopia, imperfect competition and the energy efficiency gap: Evidence from the UK refrigerator market," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 1-23.
    6. Das, Narasingha & Gangopadhyay, Partha & Alghamdi, Thamer & Sarwar, Suleman & Haseeb, Mohammad & Barut, Abdulkadir & Dey, Labani, 2023. "Understanding the role of efficiency in the electricity generation process for promoting human development in India: Findings from the novel multiple threshold nonlinear ARDL modelling," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    7. Rockstuhl, Sebastian & Wenninger, Simon & Wiethe, Christian & Häckel, Björn, 2021. "Understanding the risk perception of energy efficiency investments: Investment perspective vs. energy bill perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    8. Andersen, Kristoffer Steen & Wiese, Catharina & Petrovic, Stefan & McKenna, Russell, 2020. "Exploring the role of households’ hurdle rates and demand elasticities in meeting Danish energy-savings target," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    9. Anne Kesselring, 2023. "Willingness-to-Pay for Energy Efficiency: Evidence from the European Common Market," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 86(4), pages 893-945, December.
    10. Giraudet, Louis-Gaëtan, 2020. "Energy efficiency as a credence good: A review of informational barriers to energy savings in the building sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    11. Louis-Gaëtan Giraudet & Antoine Missemer, 2023. "The History of Energy Efficiency in Economics: Breakpoints and Regularities," Post-Print halshs-02301636, HAL.
    12. Ke, Jing & Khanna, Nina & Zhou, Nan, 2022. "Indirect estimation of willingness to pay for energy technology adoption," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 312(C).
    13. Boyd, Gale A. & Lee, Jonathan M., 2019. "Measuring plant level energy efficiency and technical change in the U.S. metal-based durable manufacturing sector using stochastic frontier analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 159-174.
    14. Arakawa, Kiyoshi, 2022. "Assessing consumer valuations of future costs versus purchase prices in Japan's auto market," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 30(C).
    15. Gillingham, Kenneth T. & Watten, Asa, 2024. "How is rooftop solar capitalized in home prices?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    16. Mitsutsugu Hamamoto, 2023. "Estimating consumers’ discount rates in energy-saving investment decisions: a comparison of revealed and stated approaches," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(7), pages 1-19, July.
    17. Gale Boyd & Matt Doolin, 2020. "The Energy Efficiency Gap and Energy Price Responsiveness in Food Processing," Working Papers 20-18, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    18. Löschel, Andreas & Lutz, Benjamin Johannes & Massier, Philipp, 2017. "Credit constraints, energy management practices, and investments in energy saving technologies: German manufacturing in close-up," ZEW Discussion Papers 17-072, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    19. Basher, Syed Abul & Raboy, David G., 2018. "The misuse of net present value in energy efficiency standards," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 218-225.
    20. Joskow, Paul L., 2019. "Jerry Hausman," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 211(1), pages 11-15.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:129:y:2019:i:c:p:467-480. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.