Natural Gas Vehicles: Consequences for Fuel Markets and the Environment
利用巴西某州加油站周度面板数据，研究天然气增长如何影响汽油和乙醇的零售价格与利润，发现竞争加剧降低了价格和利润，但反而增加了燃料需求和温室气体排放。
Policies to adopt cleaner fuels have become increasingly important, but their impacts on incumbent fuel prices and resulting greenhouse gas emissions remain unclear. We use a panel dataset on weekly prices at the gas station level in a large Brazilian state to study how the growth of natural gas, a cheaper and less carbon-intensive alternative to traditional fuels, impacted retail prices, and profit margins of gasoline and ethanol. Applying an IV strategy, we estimate that prices and margins have fallen. The intensified competition in the fuel market boosted fuel demand, leading to higher emissions of GHGs and other pollutants.