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    Pullman Gasoline Brochure

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    api-457253619
    This document provides a 3-part summary of gasoline markets in Pullman, Washington state, and nationwide: 1) It analyzes Pullman's volatile gasoline market and average student usage. 2) It examines Washington state's higher gas prices compared to eastern areas, and attributes the difference to population density and refinery access. 3) It provides instructions for students to calculate how much price difference would make them switch gas stations, to save money through informed purchasing decisions.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Pullman Gasoline Brochure

    Uploaded by

    api-457253619
    32 views3 pages
    This document provides a 3-part summary of gasoline markets in Pullman, Washington state, and nationwide: 1) It analyzes Pullman's volatile gasoline market and average student usage. 2) It examines Washington state's higher gas prices compared to eastern areas, and attributes the difference to population density and refinery access. 3) It provides instructions for students to calculate how much price difference would make them switch gas stations, to save money through informed purchasing decisions.

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    This document provides a 3-part summary of gasoline markets in Pullman, Washington state, and nationwide: 1) It analyzes Pullman's volatile gasoline market and average student usage. 2) It examines Washington state's higher gas prices compared to eastern areas, and attributes the difference to population density and refinery access. 3) It provides instructions for students to calculate how much price difference would make them switch gas stations, to save money through informed purchasing decisions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    32 views3 pages

    Pullman Gasoline Brochure

    Uploaded by

    api-457253619
    This document provides a 3-part summary of gasoline markets in Pullman, Washington state, and nationwide: 1) It analyzes Pullman's volatile gasoline market and average student usage. 2) It examines Washington state's higher gas prices compared to eastern areas, and attributes the difference to population density and refinery access. 3) It provides instructions for students to calculate how much price difference would make them switch gas stations, to save money through informed purchasing decisions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

     

    PGBG ​1/3 

    Jason Hewett & Jacob Shaddle’s 

    Pullman Gasoline 
    Buying Guide 
    2019 Edition 

    How This Helps YOU 


    It’s easy to use: This guide features c​ lear, direct instructions​ that are easy to follow 
    without taking up your time or wasting your money. 
    It makes sense: There are failures in the Pullman gasoline market, but we know the 
    economic reasoning​ for them and our analytics helped find out a solution. 

    Pullman’s Gasoline Market 


    Pullman has a very volatile gas market. With such important dates of 
    travel before and after breaks, gas stations have power to adjust prices 
    and charge extra. Plus, cars are vital while in Pullman. Average students 
    use a car 4.6/7 days of the week and fill up their tank every 19 days. 

    Statewide Gasoline Market 


    Washington State has some of the highest gas prices in the country. But 
    delving into the prices within the state, we find that the western side of the 
    state has higher prices than the eastern side. The Seattle/Tacoma area holding an average price 
    of nearly $3.5, while the Spokane/Yakima/Pullman areas holding an average price of $3.2. The 
    .30 cent increase can be attributed to the density of people in the Seattle area, creating 
    enormous demand.   

     
    PGBG 

    Nationwide Gas Market 


     

     
    The image included shows a heat map of gas prices in the United States. (GasBuddy) As you 
    can see, Washington State, and the west coast pay more for gas than anybody else in the 
    country. This can be attributed for a couple reasons. We do not have any many refineries in the 
    west, and our taxes can be higher (like in California). The lowest prices in the country reside in 
    Alabama, while California, Hawaii, and Washington round out the bottom 3. (California best the 
    highest) 

    Buying Gas Effectively 


    The baseline purpose of this guide is to s
    ​ ave students money​ when they buy gasoline. The way 
    to do this is to give market/firm information to students so there are less market failures from 
    asymmetric information a
    ​ nd​ market power​. The failure from a
    ​ symmetric information​ comes from 
    gasoline stations having more data and information on how the markets work and using that to 
    their advantage so that students end up paying more without necessarily knowing it. The ​market 
    power​ failure comes from the fact that prices are almost completely set by only two major firms, 
    Safeway and Chevron/Sunset Mart, that make up 42% and 29% of the market respectively. 
     
    PGBG 

    Instructions for Buying Gas Effectively 


    1. Determine how often you fill up your gas tank on average and translate that to a number 
    of days.  
    2. Divide the number of days you calculated by 19 days (WSU average) to get your X. 
    3. Take that X answer and multiply it by 27 (the number 27 is explained further below). 

    This number is most likely two digits and represents a value of cents. This number is your 
    individual amount needed to change gas stations (in cents per gallon). 

    EX: If your number comes out to 23, then you would need one gas station to offer gas for 23 
    cents/gallon CHEAPER than another gas station for you to switch. So from here... 

    4. Verify the prices of gasoline at the stations in Pullman (either personally looking in 
    Pullman or just using an online source like GasBuddy.com or another site). 
    5. Make your choice!  
    a. If one Pullman gas station is cheaper than a
    ​ ny​ given Pullman gas station by your 
    number calculated, go there! 
    b. If there are multiple cheaper then you get to pick between those options!  
    c. If none are cheap enough compared to other gas stations then just choose any! 
     

    Our Methods 
    We used a 2019 survey of WSU students detailing buying habits and preferences. Our main data 
    point was 27 cents, which was the average cost difference for students to switch gas stations. 

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