Publications

Drivers of Transportation Fuel Demand: Shared Automated Mobility-On-Demand

Mobility-on-demand services provide a glimpse into the potential impact of an automated mobility future. Current signs suggest an important role for public policy in reaching a desired lowcongestion, energy-efficient mobility future.

Reforming Industrial Fuel and Residential Electricity Prices in Saudi Arabia

Walid Matar

The Saudi electricity sector buys fuel and sells electricity at prices administered by the government. In this analysis, we assume that fuel prices are deregulated — priced at their marginal values or international equivalents — and use a long-term static…

Matar, Walid

Prices versus policy: An analysis of the drivers of the primary fossil fuel mix

Energy Policy

Energy policymakers often attempt to shape their countries’ energy mix, rather than leave it purely to market forces. By calibrating and simulating a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model, this paper analyzes the primary fossil fuel mix in the USA…

Tarek Atalla, Lester C. Hunt, Baltasar Manzano

Drivers of Transportation Fuel Demand: Fuel Efficient Mobility From the Consumer’s Perspective

The working assumption of most policymakers and automakers is that light-duty vehicle buyers either undervalue fuel economy or behave as if they do – perhaps because of the complexity in evaluating discounted fuel cost savings. If one accepts this argument…

An Evaluation of High Energy Performance Residential Buildings in Bahrain

Kankana Dubey, Moncef Krarti

This paper describes our analysis of the cost-effectiveness of designing and retrofitting residential buildings in Bahrain and outlines our analytical approach. The study focuses on residential buildings since households consume more than 48 percent of electricity used in the country.…

Dubey, Kankana

Krarti, Moncef

Impact of Domestic Fuel Price Reforms on the use of Public Transport in Saudi Arabia

In 2016, policymakers in Saudi Arabia increased domestic transportation fuel prices, which are expected to approach market levels in the near future. Current low crude oil prices offer an excellent opportunity for policymakers to deregulate the passenger transportation sector without…

Striking a balance between profit and carbon dioxide emissions in the Saudi cement industry

International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control

Cement manufacturing is a major industry in Saudi Arabia. As a highly polluting sector, it may be part of CO2 abatement policy for the country. This paper presents a multi-criteria analysis to examine how two competing objectives affect the performance…

Walid Matar, Amro Elshurafa

Estimating the Learning Curve of Solar PV Balance-of-Systems for Over 20 Countries

Amro Elshurafa, Shahad Albardi, Carlo Andrea Bollino

The capital cost of a solar photovoltaic (PV) system comprises the module and balance-of-systems (BOS). The latter refers to everything else that is needed to make the solar system functional including cables, mounts, labor, etc. While modules are priced internationally,…

Elshurafa, Amro

Albardi, Shahad

Bollino, Carlo Andrea

Curbing Carbon Emissions: Is a Carbon Tax the Most Efficient Levy?

Jorge Blazquez

The ambitious environmental objectives of the Paris Agreement imply that, in order to curb carbon emissions, all cost-effective policy options should be considered. These options include carbon taxes, probably the most popular fiscal tool for curbing emissions, and various other…

Blazquez, Jorge

Economic and Environmental Benefits of Improving UAE Building Stock Energy Efficiency

Kankana Dubey, Moncef Krarti

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), buildings consume almost 90 percent of the total electricity used in the country, mostly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. We undertook a study to explore available opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of the…

Dubey, Kankana

Krarti, Moncef

How do Price Caps in China’s Electricity Sector Impact the Economics of Coal, Power and Wind? Potential Gains from Reforms

Energy Journal

China imposes maximum prices by plant type and region on the electricity that generators sell to utilities. We show that these price caps create a need for subsidies and cross-subsidies, and affect the economics of wind power. We model the…

Bertrand Rioux, Philipp Galkin, Frederic Murphy, Axel Pierru

A look at the response of households to time-of-use electricity pricing in Saudi Arabia and its impact on the wider economy

Energy Strategy Reviews

Households in Saudi Arabia account for about half of domestic electricity demand. This high level of consumption is partly due to historically low prices. These prices have also been flat throughout the day. Policymakers are exploring different pricing policies to…

Walid Matar

Toward the Integration of Policymaking Models and Economic Models

Andrew Howe, Brian Efird

The traditional economic approach to policy analysis is to utilize tools and methods developed within the field of economics and study the economic impact of one or more policies solely from an economic perspective. As a consequence, the “policies” are…

Howe, Andrew

Efird, Brian

The Role of Natural Resources

Daniel Mabrey

https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85033204071&doi=10.1007%2f978-3-319-46889-1_24&origin=inward&txGid=fd13380ebd3a09c1de8cb7c7aa243585

Mabrey, Daniel

Energy Productivity: Evaluating Large-Scale Building Energy Efficiency Programs in Oman

Kankana Dubey, Moncef Krarti

More than 75 percent of the total electricity consumed in Oman is attributed to buildings, with almost 50 percent used by households. The absence of mandatory energy efficiency regulations for buildings, coupled with population growth, has led to a significant…

Dubey, Kankana

Krarti, Moncef

Jointly reforming the prices of industrial fuels and residential electricity in Saudi Arabia

Energy Policy

The Saudi electricity sector currently buys fuel and sells electricity at prices administered by the government. In this analysis, we illustratively explore combining the reform of the fuel prices used in power plants with the implementation of alternative electricity pricing…

Walid Matar, Murad Anwer

Support for a Carbon Tax in China: A Collective Decision-Making Process Simulation Using the KAPSARC Toolkit for Behavioral Analysis

Imtenan Al-Mubarak, Brian Efird

China, the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, is taking steps to combat the effects of climate change on its environment. The path it takes to mitigate the effects of pollution will have a significant impact on the global carbon…

Al-Mubarak, Imtenan

Efird, Brian

Energy Dialogue 2016 Summary

KAPSARC’s Energy Dialogue 2016 delivered rich insights and thoughtful discussion about the rapid transitions underway in an area of national and global importance.  The 300 participants included high-level officials, leading researchers, policy strategists, and industry player, representing diverse branches of…

The Effect of Preferential Trade Agreements on Energy Trade from Chinese and Exporters’ Perspectives

Philipp Galkin, Carlo Andrea Bollino

During periods of supply abundance that lead to lower prices, commodity exporters strive to secure their market share with major importing economies. This paper seeks to cast light on what drives an exporter’s share of Chinese imports of oil, gas…

Galkin, Philipp

Bollino, Carlo Andrea

Understanding Long Term Consumer Demand For Fuel Efficient Vehicles

Rubal Dua

Consumer adoption of fuel-efficient vehicles is a crucial step in improving energy use and reducing emissions from the transportation sector. The range of options includes hybridization of powertrains all the way through to fully electric vehicles. To promote adoption, policymakers…

Dua, Rubal