← Search

American Economic Review Vol. 101 No. 6 2011

Clearing the Air? The Effects of Gasoline Content Regulation on Air Quality

Maximilian Auffhammer1; Ryan Kellogg2

1 Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, UC Berkeley and National Bureau of Economic Research, 207 Giannini Hall #3310, Berkeley, CA 94720. · 2 Department of Economics, University of Michigan and National Bureau of Economic Research, 238 Lorch Hall, 611 Tappan Strett, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1220.

open access

Abstract

This paper examines whether US gasoline content regulations, which impose substantial costs on consumers, have successfully reduced ozone pollution. We take advantage of spatial and temporal variation in the regulations' implementation to show that federal gasoline standards, which allow refiners flexibility in choosing a compliance mechanism, did not improve air quality. This outcome occurred because minimizing the cost of compliance does not reduce emissions of those compounds most prone to forming ozone. In California, however, we find that precisely targeted, inflexible regulations requiring the removal of particularly harmful compounds significantly improved air quality.

DOI
10.1257/aer.101.6.2687
Volume
101
Issue
6
Pages
2687-2722
Language
en
Sources
openalex bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref

Cite