Thesis advisor: Frank Gollop / This thesis explores the unanticipated consequences of producing ethanol for use as a transportation fuel in the United States. Statistical analysis is conducted to determine the effect that increased ethanol production has on the prices of two essential American commodities: corn and gasoline. A simultaneous system of the demand and supply of corn is developed to estimate the effect of ethanol on the price of corn. The results of this model suggest that during the period 1986-2001, corn demanded for ethanol production caused the price of corn to be 19% higher than it otherwise would have been. This result is noteworthy because the majority of American foods contain some type of corn product. A second simultaneous system is developed to determine the effect of ethanol on the price of gasoline. Neither a change in the price of ethanol nor a change quantity of ethanol per gallon of gasoline was found to have a significant impact on the price of gasoline. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Economics Honors Program. / Discipline: Economics.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BOSTON/oai:dlib.bc.edu:bc-ir_102490 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Evangelista, Lauren E. |
| Publisher | Boston College |
| Source Sets | Boston College |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, thesis |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. |
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