Correcting Heterogeneous Externalities: Evidence from Local Fuel Taxes

The demand for automobile transportation and the external costs of driving vary widely across locations. However, gasoline taxes, the most common policy tools implemented to correct these externalities, are levied uniformly at the federal and state levels. I examine how a gasoline tax that reflects the heterogeneity in demand and damages can improve efficiency. I estimate county-level travel demand elasticities and congestion damages to compare the efficiency of state gasoline taxes to county-specific fuel taxes. Because elasticities, congestion damages, and pollution damages exhibit heterogeneity across regions, county-specific fuel taxes, largely levied in major metropolitan areas, provide consumer welfare gains between $5 and $30 per capita annually in addition to equity gains relative to revenue-neutral state fuel taxes.