IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/isu/genres/34892.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Impact of US Biofuel Policy on US Corn and Gasoline Price Variability

Author

Listed:
  • McPhail, Lihong Lu
  • Babcock, Bruce A.

Abstract

Despite a large number of studies that examine the influence of biofuels and biofuel policy on commodity prices, the impact of biofuel policy on commodity price variability is poorly understood. A good understanding of biofuel policy's impact on price variability is important for mitigating food insecurity and assisting policy formation. We examine how U.S. ethanol policies such as the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandates and the blend wall affect the price variability of corn and gasoline. We first present an analytical and graphical framework to identify the effect and then use stochastic partial equilibrium simulation to measure the magnitude of the impacts. We show that RFS mandates and the blend wall both reduce the price elasticity of demand for corn and gasoline and therefore increase the price variability when supply shocks occur to the markets. This has important implications for policy actions with respect to maintaining or changing the current RFS mandates and/or blend wall in the US.Biofuel policy; Price variability; Commodity; Stochastic simulation

Suggested Citation

  • McPhail, Lihong Lu & Babcock, Bruce A., 2012. "Impact of US Biofuel Policy on US Corn and Gasoline Price Variability," Staff General Research Papers Archive 34892, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:isu:genres:34892
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas W. Hertel & Jayson Beckman, 2011. "Commodity Price Volatility in the Biofuel Era: An Examination of the Linkage between Energy and Agricultural Markets," NBER Chapters, in: The Intended and Unintended Effects of US Agricultural and Biotechnology Policies, pages 189-221, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Anderson, Soren T., 2012. "The demand for ethanol as a gasoline substitute," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 151-168.
    3. Amani Elobeid & Simla Tokgoz & Dermot J. Hayes & Bruce A. Babcock & Chad E. Hart, 2006. "Long-Run Impact of Corn-Based Ethanol on the Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Sectors: A Preliminary Assessment, The," Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Publications 06-bp49, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    4. Harry de Gorter & David R. Just, 2008. "Water in the U.S. Ethanol Tax Credit and Mandate: Implications for Rectangular Deadweight Costs and the Corn-Oil Price Relationship," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 30(3), pages 397-410.
    5. de Gorter, Harry & Just, David R. & Tan, Qinwen, 2009. "The Socially Optimal Import Tariff and Tax Credit for Ethanol with Farm Subsidies," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 38(1), pages 1-13, April.
    6. Gardner Bruce & Tyner Wallace, 2007. "Explorations in Biofuels Economics, Policy, and History: Introduction to the Special Issue," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 5(2), pages 1-8, December.
    7. Simla Tokgoz & Amani Elobeid & Jacinto F. Fabiosa & Dermot J. Hayes & Bruce A. Babcock & Tun-Hsiang (Edward) Yu & Fengxia Dong & Chad E. Hart & John C. Beghin, 2007. "Emerging Biofuels: Outlook of Effects on U.S. Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Markets," Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) Publications (archive only) 07-sr101, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    8. Lihong Lu McPhail & Bruce A. Babcock, 2008. "Ethanol, Mandates, and Drought: Insights from a Stochastic Equilibrium Model of the U.S. Corn Market," Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Publications 08-wp464, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    9. Sergio H. Lence & Dermot J. Hayes, 2002. "U.S. Farm Policy and the Volatility of Commodity Prices and Farm Revenues," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 84(2), pages 335-351.
    10. Sergio H. Lence & Dermot J. Hayes, 2002. "U.S. Farm Policy and the Volatility of Commodity Prices and Farm Revenues," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 84(2), pages 335-351.
    11. Carl R. Zulauf & E. Neal Blue, 2003. "Has the Market's Estimate of Crop Price Variability Increased since the 1996 Farm Bill?," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 25(1), pages 145-153.
    12. Luchansky, Matthew S. & Monks, James, 2009. "Supply and demand elasticities in the U.S. ethanol fuel market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 403-410, May.
    13. Du, Xiaodong & Hayes, Dermot J., 2009. "The impact of ethanol production on US and regional gasoline markets," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 3227-3234, August.
    14. Regnier, Eva, 2007. "Oil and energy price volatility," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 405-427, May.
    15. Wallace E. Tyner & Farzad Taheripour, 2008. "Policy Options for Integrated Energy and Agricultural Markets," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 30(3), pages 387-396.
    16. Thomas W. Hertel & Wallace E. Tyner & Dileep K. Birur, 2010. "The Global Impacts of Biofuel Mandates," The Energy Journal, , vol. 31(1), pages 75-100, January.
    17. Seth Meyer & Wyatt Thompson, 2010. "Demand Behavior and Commodity Price Volatility Under Evolving Biofuel Markets and Policies," Natural Resource Management and Policy, in: Madhu Khanna & Jürgen Scheffran & David Zilberman (ed.), Handbook of Bioenergy Economics and Policy, chapter 0, pages 133-148, Springer.
    18. Carl H. Nelson & Paul V. Preckel, 1989. "The Conditional Beta Distribution as a Stochastic Production Function," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 71(2), pages 370-378.
    19. Jonathan E. Hughes & Christopher R. Knittel & Daniel Sperling, 2008. "Evidence of a Shift in the Short-Run Price Elasticity of Gasoline Demand," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 29(1), pages 113-134.
    20. Park, Hwanil & Fortenbery, T. Randall, 2007. "The Effect of Ethanol Production on the U.S. National Corn Price," 2007 Conference, April 16-17, 2007, Chicago, Illinois 37565, NCCC-134 Conference on Applied Commodity Price Analysis, Forecasting, and Market Risk Management.
    21. de Gorter Harry & Just David R, 2008. "The Economics of the U.S. Ethanol Import Tariff with a Blend Mandate and Tax Credit," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 6(2), pages 1-23, December.
    22. Tyner, Wallace E. & Taheripour, Farzad & Perkis, David, 2010. "Comparison of fixed versus variable biofuels incentives," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 5530-5540, October.
    23. Yang, Bong-Min & Hu, Teh-wei, 1984. "Gasoline demand and supply under a disequilibrium market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 276-282, October.
    24. Crago, Christine L. & Khanna, Madhu & Barton, Jason & Giuliani, Eduardo & Amaral, Weber, 2010. "Competitiveness of Brazilian sugarcane ethanol compared to US corn ethanol," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 7404-7415, November.
    25. Storchmann, Karl, 2005. "Long-Run Gasoline demand for passenger cars: the role of income distribution," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 25-58, January.
    26. Brennan, Michael J & Schwartz, Eduardo S, 1985. "Evaluating Natural Resource Investments," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(2), pages 135-157, April.
    27. John D. Anderson & Keith H. Coble, 2010. "Impact of renewable fuels standard ethanol mandates on the corn market," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(1), pages 49-63.
    28. Carl R. Zulauf & E. Neal Blue, 2003. "Has the Market's Estimate of Crop Price Variability Increased since the 1996 Farm Bill?," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 25(1), pages 145-153.
    29. Timilsina, Govinda R. & Shrestha, Ashish, 2011. "How much hope should we have for biofuels?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 2055-2069.
    30. Xiaodong Du & Dermot J. Hayes, 2008. "Impact of Ethanol Production on U.S. and Regional Gasoline Prices and on the Profitability of the U.S. Oil Refinery Industry, The," Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Publications 08-wp467, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    31. Paul C. Westcott, 1998. "Implications of U.S. Policy Changes for Corn Price Variability," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 20(2), pages 422-434.
    32. Thompson, Wyatt & Meyer, Seth D. & Westhoff, Patrick C., 2008. "Model of the US Ethanol Market," FAPRI-MU Report Series 37971, Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI).
    33. Lihong Lu McPhail & Bruce A. Babcock, 2008. "Short-Run Price and Welfare Impacts of Federal Ethanol Policies," Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Publications 08-wp468, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    34. Elobeid, Amani & Tokgoz, Simla & Hayes, Dermot J. & Babcock, Bruce & Hart, Chad E., 2007. "The Long-Run Impact of Corn-Based Ethanol on the Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Sectors with Implications for Biotech Crops," ISU General Staff Papers 200701010800001003, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    35. Storchmann, Karl, 2005. "Erratum to "Long-run gasoline demand for passenger cars: The role of income distribution" [Energy Economics, 27 (1), 25-58]," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 687-687, July.
    36. Szklo, Alexandre & Schaeffer, Roberto & Delgado, Fernanda, 2007. "Can one say ethanol is a real threat to gasoline?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 5411-5421, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Philip Abbott, 2014. "Biofuels, Binding Constraints, and Agricultural Commodity Price Volatility," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Food Price Volatility, pages 91-131, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Condon, Nicole & Klemick, Heather & Wolverton, Ann, 2015. "Impacts of ethanol policy on corn prices: A review and meta-analysis of recent evidence," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 63-73.
    3. Peter Maniloff & Sul-Ki Lee, 2015. "The Ethanol Mandate and Corn Price Volatility," Working Papers 2015-01, Colorado School of Mines, Division of Economics and Business.
    4. Whistance, Jarrett & Thompson, Wyatt, 2010. "How does increased corn-ethanol production affect US natural gas prices?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 2315-2325, May.
    5. Schmit, T.M. & J., Luo & Conrad, J.M., 2011. "Estimating the influence of U.S. ethanol policy on plant investment decisions: A real options analysis with two stochastic variables," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1194-1205.
    6. Lihong Lu McPhail & Bruce A. Babcock, 2008. "Short-Run Price and Welfare Impacts of Federal Ethanol Policies," Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Publications 08-wp468, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    7. Walls, W.D. & Rusco, Frank & Kendix, Michael, 2011. "Biofuels policy and the US market for motor fuels: Empirical analysis of ethanol splashing," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 3999-4006, July.
    8. Hayes, Dermot J. & Babcock, Bruce A. & Fabiosa, Jacinto F. & Tokgoz, Simla & Elobeid, Amani E. & Yu, Tun-Hsiang (Edward) & Dong, Fengxia & Hart, Chad E. & Chavez, Eddie C. & Pan, Suwen & Carriquiry, M, 2009. "Biofuels: Potential Production Capacity, Effects on Grain and Livestock Sectors, and Implications for Food Prices and Consumers," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 41(2), April.
    9. Serra, Teresa, 2011. "Volatility spillovers between food and energy markets: A semiparametric approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1155-1164.
    10. Mallory, Mindy L. & Irwin, Scott H. & Hayes, Dermot J., 2012. "How market efficiency and the theory of storage link corn and ethanol markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 2157-2166.
    11. Moschini, GianCarlo & Cui, Jingbo & Lapan, Harvey E., 2012. "Economics of Biofuels: An Overview of Policies, Impacts and Prospects," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 1(3), pages 1-28, December.
    12. McPhail, Lihong Lu, 2011. "Assessing the impact of US ethanol on fossil fuel markets: A structural VAR approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1177-1185.
    13. Tyner, Wallace E. & Taheripour, Farzad & Perkis, David, 2010. "Comparison of fixed versus variable biofuels incentives," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 5530-5540, October.
    14. Zingbagba, Mark & Nunes, Rubens & Fadairo, Muriel, 2020. "The impact of diesel price on upstream and downstream food prices: Evidence from São Paulo," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    15. Ching-Chun Wei & Shu-Min Chen, 2016. "Examining the Relationship of Crude Oil Future Price Return and Agricultural Future Price Return in US," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 6(1), pages 58-64.
    16. Lihong Lu McPhail & Bruce A. Babcock, 2008. "Ethanol, Mandates, and Drought: Insights from a Stochastic Equilibrium Model of the U.S. Corn Market," Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Publications 08-wp464, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    17. Jacinto F. Fabiosa & John C. Beghin & Fengxia Dong & JAmani Elobeid & Simla Tokgoz & Tun-Hsiang Yu, 2010. "Land Allocation Effects of the Global Ethanol Surge: Predictions from the International FAPRI Model," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 86(4), pages 687-706.
    18. Natanelov, Valeri & McKenzie, Andrew M. & Van Huylenbroeck, Guido, 2013. "Crude oil–corn–ethanol – nexus: A contextual approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 504-513.
    19. Scheitrum, Daniel, 2017. "Renewable Natural Gas as a Solution to Climate Goals: Response to California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard," MPRA Paper 77193, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Scott, K. Rebecca, 2015. "Demand and price uncertainty: Rational habits in international gasoline demand," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 40-49.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:isu:genres:34892. 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: Curtis Balmer (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deiasus.html .

    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.