PRICE DISPERSION, SEARCH COSTS AND CONSUMERS AND SELLERS HETEROGENEITY IN RETAIL FOOD MARKETS

Price dispersion, i.e. a homogeneous product sold at different prices by different sellers, is among the most replicated findings in empirical economics. The paper assesses the extent and determinants of spatial price dispersion for 14 perfectly homogeneous food products in more than 400 retailers in a market characterized by the persistence of a large number of relatively small traditional food stores, side by side large supermarkets. The extent of observed price dispersion is quite high, suggesting that monopolistic competition prevails as a result of the heterogeneity of services offered. When prices in an urban area (where the spatial concentration of sellers is much higher and consumer search costs significantly lower) have been compared with those in smaller towns and rural areas, differences in search costs and the potentially higher degree of competition did not yield lower prices; quite the contrary, they were, on average, higher for 11 of the 14 products considered. Supermarkets proved to be often, but not always, less expensive than traditional retailers, although average savings from food shopping at supermarkets were extremely low. Finally, the results of the study suggest that sellers behave differently in their pricing strategies; these differences emerge both at the firm level, and for supermarkets within the same chain. The fact that products considered were homogeneous, purchases frequently repeated, the number of sellers large, and search costs relatively low, did not suffice to keep price dispersion low. From the results presented in the paper, it is clear that what is important in explaining price dispersion is the contemporaneous heterogeneity of retailers (in terms of services) and consumers (in terms of search and shopping preferences), which makes it possible for a monopolistic competition structure of the market to emerge and for small traditional food retailers to remain in business.Price dispersion, Retail pricing, Food markets

Price and inventory dynamics in an oligopoly industry: A framework for commodity markets

This paper analyzes the interaction between price and inventory decisions in an oligopoly industry and its implications for the dynamics of prices. The work extends existing literature and especially the work of Hall and Rust (2007) to endogenous prices and strategic oligopoly competition. We show that the optimal decision rule is an (S, s) order policy and prices and inventory are strategic substitutes. Fixed ordering costs generate infrequent orders. Consequently, with strategic competition in prices, (S, s) inventory behavior together with demand uncertainty generates endogenous cyclical patterns in prices without any exogenous shocks. Hence, the developed model provides a promising framework for explaining dynamics of commodity markets and especially observed autocorrelation in price fluctuations. --Inventory dynamics,price competition,oligopoly,(S, s) order policy,commodity markets

Revenue Sharing, Demand Uncertainty, and Vertical Control of Competing Firms

This paper argues that revenue sharing is a valuable instrument in vertically separated industries when there is intrabrand competition among the downstream firms, demand is stochastic or variable, and downstream inventory is chosen before demand is realized. In these environments, the upstream firm would like to simultaneously soften downstream competition and encourage efficient inventory holding. Traditional two-part tariffs cannot achieve both objectives in the presence of downstream competition. Raising the price of the inputs softens price competition but distorts the downstream firms' inventory decisions. We argue that revenue sharing, combined with a low input price, aligns the incentives in the vertical chain. The use of revenue sharing in video rental retailing is discussed. Blockbuster in particular has used revenue sharing in conjunction with heavy marketing of availability to grow significantly in the video rental retail industry. Many other outlets use revenue sharing as well. Some antitrust concerns have been raised by smaller firms suggesting that revenue sharing might be an anticompetitive vertical restraint. Although our model does not address retailer market power, we show that revenue sharing contracts can be used by upstream firms increase inventory holding and consumer welfare.

Price and Inventory Dynamics in an Oligopoly Industry: A Framework for Commodity Markets

This paper analyzes the interaction between price and inventory decisions in an oligopoly industry and its implications for the dynamics of prices. The work extends existing literature and especially the work of Hall and Rust (2007) to endogenous prices and strategic oligopoly competition. We show that the optimal decision rule is an (S, s) order policy and prices and inventory are strategic substitutes. Fixed ordering costs generate infrequent orders. Consequently, with strategic competition in prices, (S, s) inventory behavior together with demand uncertainty generates endogenous cyclical patterns in prices without any exogenous shocks. Hence, the developed model provides a promising framework for explaining dynamics of commodity markets and especially observed autocorrelation in price fluctuations.Inventory dynamics, price competition, oligopoly, (S, s) order policy, commodity markets.

Persistent Price Dispersion in Online Markets

Using data from one of the Internet’s leading price comparison sites for consumer electronics products, we present evidence for the persistence of price dispersion for 36 homogeneous products. The markets for these products are “thick” with an average of over 20 firms selling each product. We show that prices do not converge to the “law of one price” even after an 18 month period. This finding is robust to controls for differences in shipping charges and inventories. Further, we show that product life cycle effects lead to changes in the number of competing firms and the range of price dispersion consistent with the theoretical predictions of the Varian (1980) model. The average number of competing firms declines from about 28 to 10 during the final five months of our dataset. Over this same period, the average range in prices decreases from about 75 percent to 30 percent. After accounting for firm heterogeneities in costs, branding, reputation, trust, product availability and shipping costs, 28 percent of the variation in prices charged for homogeneous products remains unexplained. This is also consistent with the Varian model.Price dispersion, Internet, Law of One Price

The role of technology, organisation, and demand in growth and income distribution

The paper proposes a model that explains cross-country growth divergences over time for different aspects of structural change. The model formalises the links between production technology, firm organisation (functional composition of employment) on the supply side and the endogenous evolution of income distribution and consumption patterns on the demand side. Wage distribution is the main channel between the organisation of firms and consumption patterns, and firm selection is the main trigger of investment in new capital, productivity gains and cumulative growth. The model is able to reproduce empirical stylised facts on growth and income inequality associated with different stages of growth. We use VARs to estimate the causal relations between the three aspects of structural change. We then analyse the effect of the parameters that define the structure of an economy – and the way in which this unfolds through time – on growth and income distribution via numerical simulation. Product variety, differences in consumption preferences, organisational complexity and production technology determine whether the economy experiences a take-off or a stagnating growth, and the associated distribution of income

Sales and Consumer Inventory

Temporary price reductions (sales) are quite common for many goods and usually result in an increase in the quantity sold. We explore whether the data support the hypothesis that these increases are, at least partly, due to dynamic consumer behavior: at low prices consumers stockpile for future consumption. This effect, if present, has broad implications for interpretation of demand estimates. We construct a dynamic model of consumer choice and use it to derive testable predictions. We test the implications of the model using two years of store-level scanner data and data on the purchases of a panel of households over the same time. The results support the existence of household stockpiling behavior.

Electronic Commerce, Consumer Search and Retailing Cost Reduction

This paper explains four things in a unified way. First, how e-commerce can generate price equilibria where physical shops either compete with virtual shops for consumers with Internet access, or alternatively, sell only to consumers with no Internet access. Second, how these price equilibria might involve price dispersion on-line. Third, why prices may be higher on-line. Fourth, why established firms can, but need not, be more reluctant than newly created firm to adopt e-commerce. For this purpose we develop a model where e-commerce reduces consumers' search costs, involves trade-offs for consumers, and reduces retailing costs.Comment: 29th TPRC Conference, 200

Copper and the negative price of storage

Commodities are often stored during periods in which storage returns a negative price. Further, during periods of"backwardation,"the expected revenue from holding inventories will be negative. Since the 1930s, the negative price of storage has been attributed to an offsetting"convenience yield."It has been argued that inventories are a necessary adjunct to business and that increasing inventories from some minimal level reduces overall costs. This theory has always been criticized by proponents of cost-of-carry models, who argue that a negative price for storage creates arbitrage opportunities. Proponents of the cost-of-carry model have asserted that storage will occur only with positive returns. They offer a set of price-arbitrage conditions that associate negative returns with stockouts. Still, stockouts are rare in commodity markets, and storage appears to take place during periods of"backwardation"in apparent violation of the price-arbitrage conditions. For copper, inventories have always been available to the market regardless of the price of storage. The author argues that although inventories may provide a cost-reducing convenience yield, inventories also have value because of uncertainty. Just as the price of a call option contains a premium based on price variability, so the shadow price of inventories contains a dispersion premium associated with the unplanned component of inventories. The author derives a generalized price-arbitrage condition in which either a convenience and/or a dispersion premium may justify inventory holding even during an expected price fall. He uses monthly observations of U.S. producer inventories to estimate the parameters of the price-arbitrage condition. The estimates and simulations he presents are ambiguous with regard to the existence of a convenience yield but strongly support the notion of a dispersion premium for copper. And although the average value of such a premium is low, the value of the premium increases rapidly during periods when inventories are scarce.Environmental Economics&Policies,Common Carriers Industry,Markets and Market Access,Access to Markets,Economic Theory&Research