Biodiesel has recently drawn attention because of its potential to make an important contribution to national energy security and the environment. However, the rapid growth of biodiesel has raised concerns about biodiesel’s impact on the price level and volatility of agricultural commodities....

The hypothesis underlying this analysis is that in the presence of volatile gasoline prices competitive market forces will yield alternative, less volatile fuels as substitutes. A real-option pricing approach was employed for this analysis by modeling investment under uncertainty for the case of...

The real advantage of receiving a Southern Agricultural Economics Association Lifetime Achievement award is the ability to make this presentation and have it published without having to deal with editors and referees. This provides a certain license of freedom to abstract outside the box without...

The U.S. ethanol fuel industry has experienced preferential treatment from federal and state governments ever since the Energy Tax Act of 1978 exempted 10% ethanol/gasoline blend (gasohol) from the federal excise tax. Combined with a 54¢/gal ethanol import tariff, this exemption was designed to...

Dramatic increases in levels and volatility of gasoline prices observed in recent years may create market incentives for adoption of alternative fuels characterized by lower price volatility. This hypothesis is investigated by applying the real-options pricing approach to develop optimal...

This study identifies the presence of slippage and the pitfalls associated with not considering economic substitution and expansion effects in measuring changes in water demand. Based on estimates from the Georgia Flint River Basin, the analysis indicates a 13% slippage caused by disregarding...

Policy makers should consider price volatility effects when determining appropriate spending levels for alternative fuel programs.