{"title":"Decarbonising transport: Can we rely on fuel taxes?","authors":"Rossella Bardazzi, Maria Grazia Pazienza","doi":"10.1016/j.trd.2024.104391","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Although not without criticism, carbon pricing has been identified as a key instrument to support the energy transition process, as it can convey the signal of the actual cost of carbon in relative prices. However, when price and tax elasticities are considered separately, the international literature has shown that energy demand may be more sensitive to changes in tax rates. We estimate gasoline and diesel demand elasticities for Italian households using a dynamic model on a custom-built pseudo-panel. Our results confirm that household demand for transport fuels is more sensitive to the tax component than to the oil price, controlling for income level, age and cohort effects. These results have important implications for the potential effectiveness of transport fuel taxation in setting the decarbonisation pathway: a lower tax rate is required to achieve the target than that assumed on the basis of gross price elasticities.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":23277,"journal":{"name":"Transportation Research Part D-transport and Environment","volume":"136 ","pages":"Article 104391"},"PeriodicalIF":7.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920924003481/pdfft?md5=2d063d1306731ede7e6b6897c3e5f95f&pid=1-s2.0-S1361920924003481-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Transportation Research Part D-transport and Environment","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920924003481","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Although not without criticism, carbon pricing has been identified as a key instrument to support the energy transition process, as it can convey the signal of the actual cost of carbon in relative prices. However, when price and tax elasticities are considered separately, the international literature has shown that energy demand may be more sensitive to changes in tax rates. We estimate gasoline and diesel demand elasticities for Italian households using a dynamic model on a custom-built pseudo-panel. Our results confirm that household demand for transport fuels is more sensitive to the tax component than to the oil price, controlling for income level, age and cohort effects. These results have important implications for the potential effectiveness of transport fuel taxation in setting the decarbonisation pathway: a lower tax rate is required to achieve the target than that assumed on the basis of gross price elasticities.
期刊介绍:
Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment focuses on original research exploring the environmental impacts of transportation, policy responses to these impacts, and their implications for transportation system design, planning, and management. The journal comprehensively covers the interaction between transportation and the environment, ranging from local effects on specific geographical areas to global implications such as natural resource depletion and atmospheric pollution.
We welcome research papers across all transportation modes, including maritime, air, and land transportation, assessing their environmental impacts broadly. Papers addressing both mobile aspects and transportation infrastructure are considered. The journal prioritizes empirical findings and policy responses of regulatory, planning, technical, or fiscal nature. Articles are policy-driven, accessible, and applicable to readers from diverse disciplines, emphasizing relevance and practicality. We encourage interdisciplinary submissions and welcome contributions from economically developing and advanced countries alike, reflecting our international orientation.