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Biofuel Incentives and the Energy Title of the 2007 Farm Bill

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  • Miranowski, John A

Abstract

Given the increased interest in biofuels and other biorenewables, a separate Energy Title is being considered for the 2007 Farm Bill. The added benefits and costs of such government intervention need to be weighed carefully. The United States has conducted an interesting social experiment with ethanol over the last three decades. The federal government and some state governments have provided incentives to increase both corn grain ethanol production and consumption to improve local air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and provide a substitute fuel from renewable resource that could serve to improve energy security. The experiment was successful, but in large part because the price of crude oil increased. Pushing this experiment further will eventually lead the added costs to outweigh the added benefits. Further expansion is typically justified on grounds of moving to biomass-based ethanol, which is purported to have even greater environmental and development benefits. The simple breakeven analyses presented in this paper seriously question the potential of biomass ethanol as a sustainable biofuel source.

Suggested Citation

  • Miranowski, John A, 2007. "Biofuel Incentives and the Energy Title of the 2007 Farm Bill," ISU General Staff Papers 200705170700001565, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:isu:genstf:200705170700001565
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    1. 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.
    2. Tiffany, Douglas G. & Eidman, Vernon R., 2003. "Factors Associated With Success Of Fuel Ethanol Producers," Staff Papers 14155, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
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    Cited by:

    1. de Gorter, Harry & Just, David R., 2007. "The Welfare Economics of an Excise-Tax Exemption for Biofuels and the Interaction Effects with Farm Subsidies," Working Papers 127014, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    2. Bansal, Ankit & Illukpitiya, Prabodh & Singh, Surendra P. & Tegegne, Fisseha, 2013. "Economic competitiveness of ethanol production from cellulosic feedstock in Tennessee," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 53-57.
    3. Gardner Bruce, 2007. "Fuel Ethanol Subsidies and Farm Price Support," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 5(2), pages 1-22, December.
    4. JunJie Wu & Christian Langpap, 2015. "The Price and Welfare Effects of Biofuel Mandates and Subsidies," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 62(1), pages 35-57, September.
    5. Andrian, Leandro Gaston, 2010. "Essays on energy economics: Microeconomic and macroeconomic dimensions," ISU General Staff Papers 201001010800002725, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    6. Maura Allaire and Stephen P. A. Brown, 2015. "The Green Paradox of U.S. Biofuel Subsidies: Impact on Greenhouse Gas Emissions," Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2).
    7. Bhattacharya, Suparna & Azzam, Azzeddine M. & Mark, Darrell R., 2009. "Ethanol and Meat in the U.S.: A Multi-Market Analysis," 2009 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, 2009, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 49371, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Robert Hahn & Caroline Cecot, 2009. "The benefits and costs of ethanol: an evaluation of the government’s analysis," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 35(3), pages 275-295, June.
    9. 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.
    10. de Gorter, Harry & Just, David R., 2007. "The Law of Unintended Consequences: How the U.S. Biofuel Tax Credit with a Mandate Subsidizes Oil Consumption and Has No Impact on Ethanol Consumption," Working Papers 127022, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.

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