We analyze the relationships between biodiesel, ethanol and related fuels and agricultural commodities with a use of minimal spanning trees and hierarchical trees and Granger causality. We construct this trees for different frequencies (weekly, monthly and quarterly). We find that in short-term,...

We propose a new approach to analyze relationships and dependencies between price series. For the biofuels markets and the related commodities, we study their mutual responsiveness, which can be understood as price cross-elasticities. Several methodological caveats are uncovered and discussed....

Being one of the most primary inputs of everyday life and the industrial world, energy has been used in various ways since the first existence of human beings. When we look at the types of energy used today, we can see that the mainly used types of fuels are fossil based. CO2 is emitted as a...

The regional economic impact of biofuel production depends upon a number of interrelated factors: the specific biofuels feedstock and production technology employed; the sector’s embeddedness to the rest of the economy, through its demand for local resources; the extent to which new activity is...

We use a smooth transition vector error correction model to assess price relationships within the US ethanol industry. Daily ethanol, corn and oil futures prices observed from mid-2005 to mid-2007 are used in the analysis. Results indicate the existence of an equilibrium relationship between...

The object of this paper is to analyze, in a general equilibrium setting with four markets, the efficiency of a biofuel subsidy policy. The analysis takes into account environmental externalities associated both with the production and the consumption of biofuels, as well as associated with the...

Recent research exposing environmental and social externalities of biofuels has undermined the earlier national consensus that they would provide climate mitigation and rural development benefits, but support for ethanol remains strong in Iowa. The objective of this paper is to understand how...

Biofuel production from the tropical plant Jatropha curcas L. has recently attracted a great deal of attention. Some anticipate substantial social and environmental benefits from its cultivation, while at the same time expecting sound profitability for investors. Others are more doubtful,...