There are many components that go into the price at the pump for a gallon of gasoline, but the biggest component is the price of a barrel of oil.
For example, the average price of crude oil in 2007 was $72.34 per barrel. By March of 2008, the price of crude oil reached $105 per barrel, [...]
In the face of record crude oil and gasoline prices, many have called for suspending additions to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). They argue that filling the SPR takes needed crude oil off the market and thus, suspending SPR fills will lower the price of oil and gasoline. Some have even quantified this savings in [...]
The answer is not the United States, as one might think.
Consumption of liquid fuels (both petroleum and bio) is forecast to increase by more than 40 percent from 2004 to 2030. Leading the increase will be Asian countries such as China and India, which are not members of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development [...]
Memorandum
DATE: April 13, 2008
TO: Interested Parties.
FROM: William Koetzle, Ph.D. Senior Vice President of Public Policy
RE: House Committee on Energy and Commerce, majority staff paper on: Climate Change Legislation Design, Appropriate Roles for Different Levels of Government.
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The most recent Climate Change Design White Paper aims to: “[Sort] out the appropriate roles of each level of government [...]
by Robert L. Bradley, Jr.
Economists inside and outside of the Austrian-school tradition have formulated a subjectivist theory of mineral resources. While von Mises (1940) presented a rudimentary theory, institutionalist Zimmermann (1933 and after) provided an in-depth mind-centered approach distinct from the objective, neoclassical theory for minerals developed by Jevons (1865, 1866), Gray (1913), and Hotelling [...]
by Roger Donway, Thomas Tanton and Robert L. Bradley, Jr.
The energy challenge over the next several decades and beyond is to meet ever-growing demand with affordable, reliable supply, while ensuring environmental protection and quality. Recent years have witnessed historically high energy prices, a consequence of which has been a slate of new investments in alternative [...]
by James M. Griffin
Congress is considering legislation that would punish “price gouging” on gasoline and diesel fuels during periods of national emergencies such as hurricanes Katrina and Rita. On the face of it, protecting consumers by assuring low prices and preventing gasoline producers/marketers from earning large windfall profits at the expense of the innocent victims [...]
by Robert L. Bradley, Jr. and Thomas Tanton
U.S. petroleum refining experienced an unprecedented disruption when a tight crude-oil market was joined by major infrastructure damage from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Suddenly, less supply was available to meet strong demand, and prices spiked for petroleum products, particularly gasoline.
The price issue became politicized with charges of “gouging” [...]
by Robert L. Bradley, Jr. and Thomas Tanton
Economics and history teach that free markets are the best means for allocating resources, in emergencies as well as in normal times. Unregulated prices ration supply to the most urgent demands, which is particularly important when supply is unusually scarce or demand unusually high. The situation in the [...]
