Conservation: Is It Justified in the Public Interest

One of the criticisms of the conservation program is that conservation does not promote public welfare but is a private price maintenance scheme. This article analyzes the achievements of the conservation program and concludes that although the effect of conservation is to stabilize existing prices, information available with respect to the rate of return on investment of oil companies would indicate that prices of crude oil and petroleum products are not inordinately high. This article also discusses the sources of economic inefficiency in the oil industry and suggests that efforts be taken to make conservation more efficient.