Fueling the Automobile: An Economic Exploration of Early Adoption of Gasoline over Ethanol
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Carolyn Dimitri
When the automobile was developed near the beginning of the last century, it was the relatively new fuel gasoline, not the familiar ethanol that became the fuel of choice. We examine the intersections of the early development of the automobile and the petroleum industry and consider the state of the agriculture sector during the same period. Through this process, we find a series of influences, such as relative prices and alternative markets, that help to explain how in the early years of automobile development, gasoline won out over the equally likely technical alternative ethanol. We also examine the industrial relations in the automobile industry that seem to have influenced the later adoption of leaded gasoline, rather than ethanol, as a solution to the problem of engine knock.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- Explorations in Biofuels Economics, Policy, and History: Introduction to the Special Issue
- Policy Alternatives for the Future Biofuels Industry
- Ethanol: No Free Lunch
- Fuel Ethanol Subsidies and Farm Price Support
- Estimating the Welfare Effects of U.S. Distortions in the Ethanol Market Using a Partial Equilibrium Trade Model
- Ethanol Expansion in the Food versus Fuel Debate: How Will Developing Countries Fare?
- European Union Policy on Bioenergy and the Role of Sustainability Criteria and Certification Systems
- Biofuels Policies in Asian Countries: Impact of the Expanded Biofuels Programs on World Agricultural Markets
- Potential Land Use Implications of a Global Biofuels Industry
- Technical and Financial Feasibility Analysis of Distributed Bioprocessing Using Regional Biomass Pre-Processing Centers
- Fueling the Automobile: An Economic Exploration of Early Adoption of Gasoline over Ethanol
Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- Explorations in Biofuels Economics, Policy, and History: Introduction to the Special Issue
- Policy Alternatives for the Future Biofuels Industry
- Ethanol: No Free Lunch
- Fuel Ethanol Subsidies and Farm Price Support
- Estimating the Welfare Effects of U.S. Distortions in the Ethanol Market Using a Partial Equilibrium Trade Model
- Ethanol Expansion in the Food versus Fuel Debate: How Will Developing Countries Fare?
- European Union Policy on Bioenergy and the Role of Sustainability Criteria and Certification Systems
- Biofuels Policies in Asian Countries: Impact of the Expanded Biofuels Programs on World Agricultural Markets
- Potential Land Use Implications of a Global Biofuels Industry
- Technical and Financial Feasibility Analysis of Distributed Bioprocessing Using Regional Biomass Pre-Processing Centers
- Fueling the Automobile: An Economic Exploration of Early Adoption of Gasoline over Ethanol
