As part of the Vilfredo Pareto Research Seminar series, the International Economics Department at the Geneva Graduate Institute is pleased to invite you to a public talk given by Marta Talevi.
She will present her work titled The Electric Vehicle Rebound Effect, joint with Kenneth Gillingham and Beia Spiller
Abstract: As electric vehicles (EVs) are substantially cheaper to drive per mile than internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEs), a rebound effect may occur after a household purchase a EV if the savings are reallocated to increase total VMT and the miles traveled using ICEs. Yet, applying estimates of the rebound effect from studies on fuel efficient vehicles would be inappropriate, as the difference in costs per miles is substantially more pronounced and the degree to which EVs and ICEs are substitutable in the eyes of consumers is an empirical question. The aim of this paper is to look at how households adjust their total VMT and the allocation of VMT between vehicles in response to the purchase of an EV, as well as in response to changes in gasoline prices and electricity rates. To answer these questions, we use detailed information on the composition of households’ vehicle portfolio in Massachusetts (from registration data) and the miles driven by each vehicle over time (from inspection data), combined with a rich set of household and location characteristics. These results will help us estimate to what extent EVs can offset the use of existing ICE vehicles. Understanding the substitutability between these vehicles is crucial as we move towards pricing policies that internalize externalities of gasoline consumption.
About the speaker
Marta Talevi is an applied environmental economist with research interests at the intersection of environment, energy, and development. She completed her PhD at the London School of Economics (LSE) in May 2020, and was a Postdoctoral Associate at Yale School of the Environment (YSE) until 2022. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, in the Netherlands.