Abstract
In this paper we study the incidence of specific taxes in the Italian fuel
markets, and exploit these findings to simulate the effects of fiscal policies aimed at
mitigating oil price fluctuations. We estimate several reduced-form specifications,
using as dependent variables the equilibrium wholesale prices for gasoline and motor
diesel over the period 1996-2007. In particular, we assess the impact on wholesale
gasoline and motor diesel prices stemming from the creation of an automatic
fiscal mechanism consisting of a one-to-one reduction in specific taxes matching
the rise in oil prices - a policy which has progressively gained political support after
the sharp increase of oil prices experienced in recent years. Our simulations suggest
that sterilization policies bring about an increase in the final wholesale prices. This
evidence suggests that “flexible” taxation mechanisms, focusing on specific tax reductions
(rises) to compensate oil price increases (decreases), could not be a proper
policy for stabilizing price levels in fuel markets.
Lingua originale | Inglese |
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Pagine | 351-354 |
Numero di pagine | 4 |
Stato di pubblicazione | Pubblicato - 1 gen 2009 |
Evento | 7th Meeting of the Classification and Data Analysis Group of the Italian Statistical Society - Catania, Italy Durata: 1 gen 2009 → … |
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???event.eventtypes.event.conference??? | 7th Meeting of the Classification and Data Analysis Group of the Italian Statistical Society |
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Città | Catania, Italy |
Periodo | 1/01/09 → … |
Keywords
- antitrust intervention
- fuel markets
- specific taxes
- sterilization policy
- tax incidence