Politicians and car owners are regularly concerned about the level of gasoline prices. Especially, Dutch gasoline prices seem to be high in an European perspective. This paper therefore analyses the developments of gasoline prices in the Netherlands and some other European countries from 1996 up till 2001. The paper shows that the level of Dutch gasoline prices both including and excluding taxes and duty in period 1996 till 2001 is indeed considerable higher than in our neighbouring countries. This higher level prevails despite a probable comparative cost advantage in the Netherlands. However, own analysis of the size of price increases and decreases in this period does not produce convenience evidence for a lack of competition on the Dutch gasoline market.
