Gasoline, Markets, and Regulators

Engage, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 4-13, 2003

U Illinois Law & Economics Working Paper No. LE07-015

11 Pages Posted: 31 May 2007

See all articles by Andrew P. Morriss

Andrew P. Morriss

Bush School of Government & Public Service / School of Law; PERC - Property and Environment Research Center

Abstract

Rising gasoline prices have brought energy issues back to the forefront of public policy debates. Gasoline markets today are the result of almost a hundred years of conflicting regulatory policies, which have left them dangerously fragmented. In this article, I analyze that regulatory history, highlighting the unintended consequences of regulation that have pushed the United States into a series of loosely connected regional markets rather than a broad, deep national market. This fragmentation leaves the American economy is vulnerable to natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and foreign dictators in ways that it need not be. It also produces higher prices for consumers and reduced innovation by refiners.

Suggested Citation

Morriss, Andrew P., Gasoline, Markets, and Regulators. Engage, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 4-13, 2003, U Illinois Law & Economics Working Paper No. LE07-015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=989827

Andrew P. Morriss (Contact Author)

Bush School of Government & Public Service / School of Law ( email )

4220 TAMU / Room 2141
2129 Allen Building
College Station, TX 77843-4220
United States

PERC - Property and Environment Research Center

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United States

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