We show that including Google Search Volume (GSV) for bus and train, as proxies for the willingness of the consumers to use public transportation services, significantly improves the explanatory and predictive power of the estimated demand for the United States retail gasoline. We find that...

Renewable Identification Number (RIN) is a floor-and-trade mechanism to enforce renewable energy standards in the US transportation fuels market. Motivated by several real-world cases of gasoline producers' bankruptcy or financial stress caused by volatile RINs prices, we offer a dynamic...

We offer a continuous-time contingent claims valuation framework to quantify the tax shield value of US mortgage interest deduction (MID) under uncertainty. We identify non-linear forms (both convex and concave regions) in the pay-off of MID, and discuss the implications for optimal mortgage...

This paper examines the dynamics of the relationship between the prices of crude oil and of refined products. Theory insinuates some kind of dynamic equilibrium to govern these relations but we suspect that this equilibrium condition may be subject to changes over time. In Brent-based spreads...

Internet search activity data has been widely used as an instrument to approximate trader attention in different markets. This method has proven effective in predicting market indices in the short-term. However, little attention has been paid to comparing various search keywords and finding the...

We investigate whether virtual water trade may alleviate the initial unequal distribution of hydric resources. On average, countries that are relatively abundant (with respect to capital) in the combined availability of water and arable land are, in absolute terms, scarce in capital and rich in...