American Economic Review Vol. 103 No. 3 2013
Transportation Fuels Policy Since the OPEC Embargo: Paved with Good Intentions
open access
Abstract
The price of oil increased more than 650 percent from 1972 to 1980. I review the policy discussion of the time through the lens of the printed press. I pay particular attention to whether gasoline taxes were “on the table” and how consumers viewed the different policies. Meaningful changes in gasoline taxes were on the table, but polling evidence at the time suggests that consumers preferred price controls, rationing and vehicle taxes. Given the saliency of rationing and vehicle taxes, it seems difficult to argue that these alternative polices were adopted because they hide their true costs.
- DOI
- 10.1257/aer.103.3.344
- Volume
- 103
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 344-349
- Language
- en
- Sources
- bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref