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Heterogeneity in the Pass-Through from Oil to Gasoline Prices: A New Instrument for Estimating the Price Elasticity of Gasoline Demand

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  • Lutz Kilian
  • Xiaoqing Zhou
Abstract
We propose a new instrument for estimating the price elasticity of gasoline demand that exploits systematic differences across U.S. states in the pass-through of oil price shocks to retail gasoline prices. We show that these differences are primarily driven by the cost of producing and distributing gasoline, which varies with states’ access to oil and gasoline transportation infrastructure, refinery technology and environmental regulations, creating cross-sectional gasoline price shocks in response to an aggregate oil price shock. Time-varying estimates do not support the view that the gasoline demand elasticity has declined in absolute value to near zero since the 1980s. The elasticity was stable near -0.3 until the end of 2014. It rose to about -0.2 in 2015-16, but has remained stable since 2016. Gasoline demand is more responsive in states with lower personal income, higher unemployment rates and lower urban population shares. There is no evidence for an asymmetry in the elasticity with respect to positive and negative gasoline price shocks. We illustrate how these elasticity estimates inform the recent policy debate about the impact of gasoline tax holidays on consumers’ discretionary income, about the demand destruction from the spike in gasoline prices after the invasion of Ukraine and about the impact of rising gasoline prices on carbon emissions.

Suggested Citation

  • Lutz Kilian & Xiaoqing Zhou, 2023. "Heterogeneity in the Pass-Through from Oil to Gasoline Prices: A New Instrument for Estimating the Price Elasticity of Gasoline Demand," Working Papers 2301, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:feddwp:95512
    DOI: 10.24149/wp2301
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    2. M. Adam & O. Bonnet & E. Fize & T. Loisel & M. Rault & L. Wilner, 2023. "How does fuel demand respond to price changes? Quasi-experimental evidence based on high-frequency data," Documents de Travail de l'Insee - INSEE Working Papers 2023-17, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques.
    3. Odran Bonnet & Étienne Fize & Tristan Loisel & Lionel Wilner, 2024. "Is Carbon Tax Truly More Salient? Evidence from Fuel Tourism at the France-Germany Border," CESifo Working Paper Series 10918, CESifo.
    4. Laura Grigolon & Eunseong Park & Kevin Remmy, 2024. "Fueling Electrification: The Impact of Gas Prices on Hybrid Car Usage," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2024_494, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    5. Odran Bonnet & Étienne Fize & Tristan Loisel & Lionel Wilner, 2024. "Is Carbon Tax Truly More Salient? Evidence from Fuel Tourism at the France-Germany Border," CESifo Working Paper Series 10918, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    price elasticity; gasoline; demand; Pass-through; taxes; identification; instrumental variables; Cross-sectional;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices

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