Research results for short-term and long-term petroleum elasticities are summarized, and existing Energy Information Administration (EIA) models of energy demand are used to develop estimates of price response for 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year intervals. In the short-run, elasticities reported for most petroleum products in most end-uses generally range from -.1 to -.4 although the numerous research estimates for gasoline demand elasticity are clustered in the more elastic range of -.1 to -.3. EIA models used in this analysis fall within these ranges and tend toward the higher (in absolute terms) end of the elasticity range. In transportation uses, for which most of the research has centered on gasoline, petroleum demand has been shown to be less responsive to price than the other sectors, with long-term gasoline estimates generally falling in the range of -.3 to -.9. In investigating the price sensitivity for periods up to 10 years using the EIA Demand Analysis System, petroleum product elasticities in all sectors are typically between -.4 and -.1. For automobile gasoline demand, the greatest proportion of the 10-year price response is manifested in increased cutbacks in travel. The model studies show that, given continued increases in the price of oil, the proportion of consumer budgets as well as industrial production costs allocated for petroleum products will increase; that petroleum prices will be volatile in instances of temporary oil shortages; and that market forces can achieve long-term conservation of petroleum, but at the cost of greater proportional increases in oil prices.

First Published in 2011. This title takes econometric studies as data; it examines their assumptions, investigates their methodologies, contrasts the data sets they use, and compares their results. By informing users what they can and cannot expect from researchers, it can sharpen the criteria that are used to commission such studies and judge their results. By examining an array of studies dealing with the same or related phenomena, Bohi can analyse the ways in which decisions made by researchers affect their results. All while considering inferences surrounding the role of econometric demand estimation in formulating policy and understanding demand behavior.