The Economics And Politics Of Oil Price Regulation

This book, originally published in 1996, traces the development of US government policy toward the oil industry during the 1920s and 1930s when the domestic syustem of production control was established. It then charts the deveopment and collapse of oil import controls, and the wild scramble for economic rents generated by Government regulation. It discusses the two oil crises and the ‘phantom’ Gulf War crisis, and the importance of public opinion in shaping the policy agenda. It also provides an in-depth study of Congressional oil votes from the 1950s to the 1980s and the formation of oil policy, beginning with theories of economic regulation, the role of interest groups in developing the policy agenda and the role of money in politics.

The Politics of Oil brings together legal studies, economics, and political science to illustrate how governments gain and exercise control over oil resources and how political actors influence the global oil market, both individually and in cooperation with each other. The author also investigates the role of oil in preserving regime stability, in civil wars and in inter-state conflicts, as well as discussing the possible implications for the oil industry from policies to combat climate change.

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Economics - Micro-economics, grade: 2,0, University of Erfurt, language: English, abstract: The general market regulation involves direct government intervention in economic processes to achieve political goals or to correct market failures. Regulation can be implemented through guidelines, recommendations and laws. But a government-controlled influence of the price or quantity can affect the market equilibrium to which the government policies should not be aimed at. Hence it is of utmost importance that regulation in terms of subsidies, customs, price ceilings or lower price limits are used as careful as possible without neglecting the natural market forces primarily described by Adam Smith in his book "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" (1776). Since people are trading they are always looking for ways to make good profit out of their goods and services. To protect their countries domestic production, governments put tolls on foreign products to reduce the imports of the latter and to support domestic products. But this import tax has a rather contradictory effect: For one the government anticipates a strong domestic production with everyone buying this product rather than a substitutable foreign product. Domestic production increases indeed, but an import tax raise the price of the domestic product and lowers the price of the foreign product. This means, an import toll is good for domestic producers (foreign consumers) but bad for domestic consumers (foreign producers). An import tax is one possibility to regulating the market. But this example raises the question of governmental goals, which need to be determined before a government enforces a regulation: Do we want to protect and promote consumers or producers?

The Economics and Politics of China’s Energy Security Transition clarifies China’s energy and foreign policies through a comprehensive examination of energy sources, providing an insider’s unique perspective for assessing China’s energy policies. China’s historic decline in coal consumption since 2013-2014 and a plateauing of its carbon dioxide emissions have given China an unprecedented opportunity to decarbonize while growing its economy. In response to global questions about China’s institutional, administrative, and political challenges and risks, this book provides the answers that everyone is asking. Provides a rare assessment of China’s energy policies and reveals insights into the Chinese government Devotes attention to issues of global energy governance and energy sanctions Includes data and reference content suitable for researchers in economics, sustainability, energy policy, geopolitics and political science