Premium Essay

The Oil Market In The 1970's: A Case Study

Submitted By
Words 1893
Pages 8
The United State Government involvement in the U.S. economy seldom produces a positive economic outcome. The Government’s decisions as to where they direct their spending can cause varied results not only within the economic realm, but towards other areas of American life as well. President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty movement is an example of how government spending can have a chain-reaction effect on the way Americans live their daily lives. Government involvement in the oil economy in the mid to late 1900’s greatly altered the invisible hand of the oil market, and as a result, has had incredible consequences to future natural gas rates. Recent funding toward environmentalist movements and the tariff on Chinese Solar-Panels have led …show more content…
The development of the Emergency Petroleum Allocations Act of 1973 was instigated due to previous Government tinkering in the oil market. There were several controls that the U.S. Government had placed on oil in the previous years, whether it was toward oil price or import regulations. Collisions of various Government regulations, primarily the combination of price controls and increasing import prices, led to independent gasoline retailers having shortages in product. When this issue became known to the Government, they were quick to instill another regulation and a search for control in the economy. “Congress responded to this situation [independent retailer’s gasoline shortage] not with a repeal of the price controls that were the source of the problems, but rather with a series of new complex regulations” (Van Doren). The EPAA of 1973 was then introduced by Congress in an effort to equalize the economic gap. “…it [EPAA of 1973] created a two-tier system of price controls on domestic oil. The price of "old" domestic oil was frozen, but "new" domestic oil was decontrolled” (Van …show more content…
It is interesting to consider the effects of these movements and their consequences on the average American life. The War on Poverty was made in all good intentions, but taken to the extreme with government policies and control. Oil involvement in the 1960’s showed another example of hyper-active government policy makers. Finally, the recent tax on Chinese solar-panels will increase the U.S. production of solar-panels, but for the time being, decreases consumers desire to purchase these items at such high priceless, regardless of the fortune the Government is spending towards advocating these environmentally safe methods. The U.S. Government seems to be in an endless cycle between regulations and following the market peaks and troughs. It can be hard to get an understanding grasp on the actions of the government when there are so many variables playing into every move, but the Government must remember make an effort to occasionally reject an additional restriction and allow the free market and invisible hand to balance and sustain the

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Saudi Oil

...Instruction on the Group Project Principles of Management Each project group is expected to collectively write a case report that focuses on an ethical issue faced by a real-life organization, a specific industry, or a business profession. Following is a suggested outline for the case written by your group: I) Background Information (e.g., corporate history) II) The Central Ethical Dilemma(s) III) Alternative Ways to Deal With the Ethical Dilemma(s) IV) Possible Consequences and Implications of Alternative Solutions V) Ethical Theories That Are Applicable to This Case VI) Key Questions for Case Study When writing this case report, you are encouraged to gather as much relevant information as possible from various online and offline data sources. However, all the information used in your case analysis must be properly cited in the main body of your report, including the author name(s) and publishing date/year, if available, and the detailed citations must be included in the References section. Your case report will be graded on the following criteria: 1) Proper application of ethical theories 2) Quality of writing (readability, originality, grammatical correctness, etc.) 3) Breadth of information utilized (at least 20 different articles or books need be cited and actually used in writing this case) 4) Demonstrated critical thinking skills 5) Robust logical reasoning 6) Comprehensive data analysis (i.e. taking into...

Words: 2335 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

Oil Crisis in the 1970s

...Dr. Armiger Response paper #2 4/26/12 Oil Crisis in the 1970’s The Oil Crisis of the 1970’s was a major period in American history, when a number of political, global and social events came together to create a ‘perfect storm’. The Seventies was an era filled with people seeking self-fulfillment (The ‘Me’ Decade), where the nation was growing at a fast pace. People, during this time, concentrated on their own leisure and happiness. Behind the narcissism and selfishness of many people’s attitudes, an oil crisis struck America which largely impacted the automobile industry and led to a rise in gas prices. The combination of stagnant growth and price inflation during this era raises many issues, while many attempts to end the crisis, such as Jimmy Carter’s Energy plan, substantially made it worse. These problems caused Americans to focus more on economic issues versus social issues. The “Me Decade,” a term coined by novelist Tom Wolfe, was a concept of the Seventies- “an era of narcissism, selfishness, personal rather than political awareness… The ‘70’s was the decade in which people put emphasis on the skin, on the surface, rather than on the roof of things… It was the decade in which image became preeminent because nothing deeper was going on (Schulman, 145).” It described the new American self-awareness and the collective retreat from history, community and human reciprocity. Compared to the 1960’s, Americans in the 1970’s were self-absorbed and passive; it was a stylistic...

Words: 2143 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Oil Pricing

...An Anatomy of the Crude Oil Pricing System Bassam Fattouh1 WPM 40 January 2011 1 Bassam Fattouh is the Director of the Oil and Middle East Programme at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies; Research Fellow at St Antony‟s College, Oxford University; and Professor of Finance and Management at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. I would like to express my gratitude to Argus for supplying me with much of the data that underlie this research. I would also like to thank Platts for providing me with the data for Figure 21 and CME Group for providing me with the data for Figure 13. The paper has benefited greatly from the helpful comments of Robert Mabro and Christopher Allsopp and many commentators who preferred to remain anonymous but whose comments provided a major source of information for this study. The paper also benefited from the comments received in seminars at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, UK, ENI, Milan and Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, Oxford. Finally, I would like to thank those individuals who have given their time for face-to-face and/or phone interviews and have been willing to share their views and expertise. Any remaining errors are my own. 1 The contents of this paper are the authors’ sole responsibility. They do not necessarily represent the views of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies or any of its members. Copyright © 2011 Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (Registered Charity, No. 286084) ...

Words: 14848 - Pages: 60

Premium Essay

Research on Gold Price

...International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research, Vol. 9, No. 2, (2011): 145-165 STUDY ON DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIP AMONG GOLD PRICE, OIL PRICE, EXCHANGE RATE AND STOCK MARKET RETURNS K. S. Sujit1 and B. Rajesh Kumar2 Abstract: The dynamic and complex relationship among economic variables has attracted the researchers, policy makers and business people alike. This study is an attempt to test the dynamic relationship among gold price, stock returns, exchange rate and oil price. All these variables have witnessed significant changes over time and hence, it is absolutely necessary to validate the relationship periodically. This study takes daily data from 2nd January 1998 to 5th June 2011, constituting 3485 observations. Using techniques of time series the study tried to capture dynamic and stable relationship among these variables using vector autoregressive and cointegration technique. The results show that exchange rate is highly affected by changes in other variables. However, stock market has fewer roles in affecting the exchange rate. In this study we tested two models and one model suggests that there is weak long term relationship among variables. JEL classification: C22; E3; Keywords: Unit root tests; granger causality test, Cointegration; Vector auto regression (VAR) INTRODUCTION Gold was one of the first metals humans excavated. Gold as an asset has a hybrid nature: it is a commodity used in many industries but also it has maintained throughout history...

Words: 9171 - Pages: 37

Premium Essay

Oil Industry Vertical Integration

...mF OXFORD INSTITUTE O R I ENERGY STUDIES The Effects of Vertical Integration on Oil Company Performance Fernando Barrera-Rey Oxford Institute for Energy Studies WPM 21 October 1995 The contents of this paper are the author's sole responsibility. They do not necessarily represent the views of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies or any of its Members. Copyright 0 1995 Oxford Institute for Energy Studies All rights reserved. No palt of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any fomi or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior pemiission of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. This publication is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise. be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any fonii of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without D similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. ISBN 0 948061 90 1 ABSTRACT When asked to rank industries by their degree of vertical integration, most people would agree that the oil industry should come top of the list. Underlying this belief is the fact that integration and size tend to be closely associated. As the oil industry is so large and oil companies so visible and perceived as so profitable, the common belief is a correlation between vertical...

Words: 11134 - Pages: 45

Free Essay

Tanker Industry

...------------------------------------------------- CASE STUDY TANkER INDUSTRY ------------------------------------------------- CASE STUDY TANkER INDUSTRY VERSION B VERSION B 10175 Ana Filipa Seno Conduto 10289 Sera Ayouzy 625 Adrienn Molnár 747 Lorena Vukas 10175 Ana Filipa Seno Conduto 10289 Sera Ayouzy 625 Adrienn Molnár 747 Lorena Vukas Question 1: “Identify the major differences between the spot and charter markets. Which do you think is more prone for price competition? Why?” There are two types of market for oil tanker services – the spot market and the period charter market, which defer in the way trade is handled. In the spot market, a vessel was rented just for a single predefined transportation. In specific, ship-owner agreed to carry cargo only on one occasion between two specified ports in the near future, usually within two weeks of the date on which the agreement was made. On the other hand, in the period charter market the trade concerned actual ships as they were hired on a long-term basis with or without crews, maintenance and repair. They were hired for a particular period of time, a given number of voyages or the movement of a certain quantity of oil between specific points. In a nutshell, these markets were substantially different and used for different occasions so consequently prices were not determined in the same way. Nevertheless, prices in both markets were established through brokers whose...

Words: 3117 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Global Oil Industry

...UNIVERSITY THE INTERNATIONAL OIL COMPANIES BY AMY MYERS JAFFE WALLACE S. WILSON FELLOW IN ENERGY STUDIES JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RONALD SOLIGO, PH.D. PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, RICE UNIVERSITY RICE SCHOLAR, JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY PREPARED IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN ENERGY STUDY SPONSORED BY JAPAN PETROLEUM ENERGY CENTER AND THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY NOVEMBER 2007 International Oil Companies THIS PAPER WAS WRITTEN BY A RESEARCHER (OR RESEARCHERS) WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE JOINT BAKER INSTITUTE/JAPAN PETROLEUM ENERGY CENTER POLICY REPORT, THE CHANGING ROLE OF NATIONAL OIL COMPANIES IN INTERNATIONAL ENERGY MARKETS. WHEREVER FEASIBLE, THIS PAPER WAS REVIEWED BY OUTSIDE EXPERTS BEFORE RELEASE. HOWEVER, THE RESEARCH AND THE VIEWS EXPRESSED WITHIN THIS PAPER ARE THOSE OF THE INDIVIDUAL RESEARCHER(S) AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY NOR THOSE OF THE JAPAN PETROLEUM ENERGY CENTER. © 2007 BY THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY OF RICE UNIVERSITY THIS MATERIAL MAY BE QUOTED OR REPRODUCED WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION, PROVIDED APPROPRIATE CREDIT IS GIVEN TO THE AUTHOR AND THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY. 2 International Oil Companies ABOUT THE POLICY REPORT THE CHANGING ROLE OF NATIONAL OIL COMPANIES IN INTERNATIONAL ENERGY MARKETS Of world proven oil reserves of 1,148 billion barrels...

Words: 13040 - Pages: 53

Premium Essay

Geostrategy

...produce goods, so it remains even more important in our society because of globalization. Some surveys prove that needs in raw materials leads to interdependency between states. This report is here to highlight the importance of raw material and the geostrategic problems that it creates. Do we have enough quantity of raw material, in partiular carbons, to satisfy a growing worldwide consumption in energy? How do raw materials have an impact on geostrategy? To find answers to theses questions, I will first discuss about raw materials, specifically carbon energy, their importance and their “fate”, and then highlight the worldwide competition for natural resources. I. Our dependecy to Raw Material All our natural resources, except 2 of them, oil and natural gas, are doomed to exhaustion. Why? In june 2010, the European Commision releases a report on the “critical raw material” and their proven reserves worldwide. A critical raw material is a resource subject to a higher risk of interuption. Basically they are many risks factors: low political stability (Sub-Saharian African countries), lack of investment, local Pépin Loïc – ICC 3ème Bachelor CE2 conflicts or international disputes. Here, it's the list of “critical raw materials” and their proven reserves: Graphite (China), Cobalt (Diplomatic Republic of Congo), Tungsten (China),...

Words: 1717 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Oil Price Fluctuation and the Economy

...Research Proposal Impact of Oil Price Fluctuation on the Macro Economy Von Lamey Eastern New Mexico University December 3, 2013 Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………3 Review of Literature…………………………………………………………..5 Theory…………………………………………………………………………15 Application…………………………………………………………………….18 Summary & Conclusion……………………………………………………….20 Tables…………………………………………………………………………..22 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………24 1. Introduction Oil price fluctuations have affected the people and economies of the U.S. for most of the twentieth century. The commodity has seen minor changes and major fluctuations during this period. Major price changes within a short timeframe are called shocks. The research I propose will attempt to answer the question: What is the impact of changing oil prices on the macro economy of a country? Research has demonstrated oil price fluctuations do impact economies as well as supply of and demand for the commodity. This influence on macroeconomic activity generated symmetric movement between price and many macroeconomic indices in the 1970's. However, after 1982, macroeconomic indices did not demonstrate the same proclivity to react to oil price movement. Information spreads almost instantly with the emergence of the internet. This expedient movement of news has led to an evolving trend of speculation which may or may not be beneficial to commodity pricing. One may infer that the recent prevalence...

Words: 7099 - Pages: 29

Free Essay

Kazuo Inamori Case Study

...Kazuo Inamori Case Study Kazuo Inamori was a Japanese businessman that impacted Japan in ways that few individuals could. His leadership styles were unprecedented, and he was able to enter into a variety of different business spheres and remain successful. What differentiated Inamori from the generic Japanese businessman was his passion to his company, and his desire for continued personal growth. His deep seeded drive allowed him to enter into business ventures where the odds were stacked against him, and he was still able to perform. Inamori was able to utilize a unique management method to predict and deliver wildly successful business results by recognizing inefficiencies in the market, and capitalizing on them. In my in-depth case study, I will evaluate Kazuo Inamori’s business philosophies and approaches, and I plan to identify what made him such a special individual. When Inamori was a young boy, he recognized he was able to organize individuals in a way few could. Inamori’s respectable leadership gained him camaraderie among his classmates, but he was always falling behind in his studies. Inamori’s inability to work in a traditional Japanese schooling setting landed him in a middle tier university, which caused him to adapt at an early part in his professional career. When Inamori graduated college the Job markets were not steady, and nearly all of his job applications to major firms were rejected. Inamori next found himself desperate, and he found a manufacturing job...

Words: 1824 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Opec

...Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries | | | | | Headquarters | Vienna, Austria | Official languages | English[1] | Type | Trade bloc | Membership | 12 states (2011)[show] * Algeria * Angola * Ecuador * Iran * Iraq * Kuwait * Libya * Nigeria * Qatar * Saudi Arabia * United Arab Emirates * Venezuela | Leaders | - | President | Rostam Ghasemi | - | Secretary General | Abdallah el-Badri | Establishment | Baghdad, Iraq | - | Statute | September 10–14, 1960 | - | in effect | January 1961 | Area | - | Total | 11,854,977 km2 4,577,232 sq mi | Website www.opec.org | | Currency | Indexed as USD-per-barrel | | | | Current members OPEC has twelve member countries: six in the Middle East, four in Africa, and two in South America. Country | Region | Joined OPEC[25] | Production (bbl/day) | Algeria | Africa | 1969 | 2125000 !2,125,000 (16th) | Angola | Africa | 2007 | 1948000 !1,948,000 (17th) | Ecuador | South America | 2007[A 1] | 0485700 !485,700 (30th) | Iran | Middle East | 1960[A 2] | 4172000 !4,172,000 (4th) | Iraq | Middle East | 1960[A 2] | 3200000 !3,200,000 (12th) | Kuwait | Middle East | 1960[A 2] | 2494000 !2,494,000 (10th) | Libya | Africa | 1962 | 2210000 !2,210,000 (15th) | Nigeria | Africa | 1971 | 2211000 !2,211,000 (14th) | Qatar | Middle East | 1961 | 1213000 !1,213,000 (21st) | Saudi Arabia | Middle East | 1960[A 2] | 8800000 !8,800,000 (1st) | United...

Words: 2429 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Effect of Oil Prices on Inflation in Kenya

...impact on GDP and on the masses. Why are these problems visible in a country like Kenya? Because so many other problem are putting multiplier times negative impact on GDP and other macro economic variables such as inflation. Oil and other petroleum products are scarce commodities in the world. Like prices of other commodities the price of crude oil experiences wide price swings in times of shortage or oversupply. The crude oil price cycle may extend over several years responding to changes in demand as well as OPEC and non-OPEC supply. Throughout much of the twentieth century, the price of U.S. petroleum was heavily regulated through production or price controls. In the post World War II era, U.S. oil prices at the wellhead averaged $28.52 per barrel adjusted for inflation to 2010 dollars. In the absence of price controls, the U.S. price would have tracked the world price averaging near $30.54. Over the same post war period, the median for the domestic and the adjusted world price of crude oil was $20.53 in 2010 prices. Adjusted for inflation, from 1947 to 2010 oil prices only exceeded $20.53 per barrel 50 percent of the time. (See note in the box on right.) Until March 28, 2000 when OPEC adopted the $22-$28 price band for the OPEC basket of crude, real oil prices...

Words: 11224 - Pages: 45

Free Essay

Theories of Globalization

...the US outwards is a classic example of globalization. This paper will examine two theories of globalization: the interdependency theory of Waltz and Robinson?s view of globalization as one of power politics. It will then move on to examine globalization theory in regards to democracy building. Finally, this paper will seek to examine democracy building initiatives in two countries, Iraq and Lebanon. Theories of Globalization Waltz contends that we view globalization at interdependence, and that ?interdependence [is] again associated with peace and peace increasingly with democracy.? ? People, firms, markets matter more; states matter less,? because it is the economy that drives states to make decisions. As the world becomes more interdependent on one another, decisions are made as a collective whole in the economic field, not the independent political state. In many ways, Waltz suggests that Globalism is really Americanism spread around the globe. As the Cold War ended, it become clearer that the ideology that won out, a capitalist democracy, was the winner and dominant ideology. The theology behind it was that if a country is not transparent, with a flexible free market, then it will crumble. What if a country is looking to open its economy? Waltz argues that a country wishing to join the world market must wear a ??golden straightjacket,? a package of policies including balanced budgets, economic deregulation, openness to investment and trade, and a stable currency...

Words: 4353 - Pages: 18

Premium Essay

Airways Project

...Oil Economies and Globalization: The Case of the GCC Countries Yousif Khalifa Al-Yousif Email: subhanah@emirates.net.ae Key Words: Oil, GCC Countries, Gulf JEL codes: G18, Q32, O47 Introduction Over the past 50 years, world trade has increased at a faster rate than world output. Between 1948 and 1999, merchandise exports grew by 6% in real terms, compared to an annual average output growth of 3.7% (World Trade Organization, 1998: 33-36). This means that today, the countries depend more on trade than they had following World War II. In other words, the world economy is becoming more integrated and more globalized. So, what forces have been driving this phenomenon? Is globalization a positive force in the economic development of the third world countries? Does globalizations have any downsides and if so, how can the world community deal with the downsides? What are the challenges and opportunities with which globalization presents the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies? How can these countries harness the winds of globalization in ways that help them realize their development goals? The answers to these questions will provide a better understanding of globalization and its economic implications for the GCC economics and the rest of the world. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. First, there is a brief discussion of the major forces behind the increasing globalization of the world economy in recent decades as well as the alternative views of the implications...

Words: 7537 - Pages: 31

Premium Essay

Positive Accounting Theory, Political Costs

...University of Otago Dunedin New Zealand Ph: 64-3-479-8120 Fax: 64-3-479-8450 Email: mmilne@commerce.otago.ac.nz POSITIVE ACCOUNTING THEORY, POLITICAL COSTS AND SOCIAL DISCLOSURE ANALYSES: A CRITICAL LOOK* ABSTRACT This paper critically reviews the literature seeking to establish evidence for a positive accounting theory of corporate social disclosures. It carefully traces through the original work of Watts and Zimmerman (1978) showing their concern with the lobbying behaviour of large US oil companies during the 1970s. Such companies were argued to be abusing monopolists and likely targets of selfinterested politicians pursuing wealth transfers in the form of taxes, regulations and other ‘political costs’. Watts and Zimmerman’s reference to “social responsibility” is shown to be a passing remark, and most likely refers to “advocacy advertising”, a widespread practice amongst large US oil companies at that time. Subsequent literature that relies on Watts and Zimmerman to present a case for social disclosures is shown to extend their original arguments. In the process, concern over the “high profits” of companies is shown to diminish, and the notion of political costs is so broadened that it blurs with other social theories of disclosure. Consequently, the positive accounting based social disclosures literature fails to provide distinct arguments for self-interested managers wealth maximising. This paper also shows that the empirical evidence gathered to date in support of a...

Words: 11604 - Pages: 47