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Fuel Prices and Station Heterogeneity on Retail Gasoline Markets

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  • Justus Haucap
  • Ulrich Heimeshoff
  • Manuel Siekmann

Abstract

We empirically investigate how and why price levels differ across gasoline stations, using the first full year from a novel panel data set including price quotes from virtually all gas stations in Germany. Our analysis specifically explores the role of station heterogeneity in explaining price differences across gasoline stations. Key determinants of price levels are found to be ex-refinery prices as key input costs, a station's location on roads or highway service areas, and brand recognition. A lower number of station-specific services implies lower fuel price levels, as does a more heterogeneous local competitive environment.

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  • Justus Haucap & Ulrich Heimeshoff & Manuel Siekmann, 2017. "Fuel Prices and Station Heterogeneity on Retail Gasoline Markets," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 6).
    • Handle: RePEc:aen:journl:ej38-6-hauca
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    Cited by:

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    2. Sylvain Benoît & Yannick Lucotte & Sébastien Ringuedé, 2019. "Competition and price stickiness: Evidence from the French retail gasoline market," Working Papers hal-02292332, HAL.
    3. Institute of Economics, 2020. "Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre Forschungsbericht 2019," Working Paper Series in Economics 388, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    4. Nguyen-Ones , Mai & Steen, Frode, 2018. "Market Power in Retail Gasoline Markets," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 21/2019, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics, revised 01 Jul 2019.
    5. Alderighi, Marco & Nicolini, Marcella, 2022. "Strategic information disclosure in vertical markets," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    6. Korff, Alex, 2021. "Competition on the fast lane: The price structure of homogeneous retail gasoline stations," DICE Discussion Papers 359, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    7. Nguyen-Ones, Mai & Steen, Frode, 2018. "Measuring Market Power in Gasoline Retailing: A Market- or Station Phenomenon?," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 6/2018, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    8. Neukirch Arne & Wein Thomas, 2019. "Price Gouging at the Pump? The Lerner Index and the German Fuel Market," Review of Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 70(2), pages 157-192, August.
    9. Balaguer, Jacint & Ripollés, Jordi, 2021. "Does multimarket contact affect prices in the retail fuel industry? First empirical evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    10. Céline Bonnet & Jan Philip Schain, 2020. "An Empirical Analysis Of Mergers: Efficiency Gains And Impact On Consumer Prices," Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 1-35.
    11. Emmanuel Asane-Otoo & C. Dannemann, 2021. "Station heterogeneity and asymmetric gasoline price responses," Working Papers V-436-21, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Aug 2021.
    12. Justus Haucap, 2022. "Datenmangel und andere Probleme der wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Politikberatung in Deutschland [Lack of Data and other Problems of Economic Policy Advice in Germany]," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 102(7), pages 506-510, July.
    13. Wein, Thomas, 2021. "Why abandoning the paradise? Stations incentives to reduce gasoline prices at first," VfS Annual Conference 2021 (Virtual Conference): Climate Economics 242362, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    14. Thomas Wein, 2021. "Why Abandon the Paradise? Stations’ Incentives to Reduce Gasoline Prices at First," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 465-504, December.
    15. Thomas Wein, 2020. "Why abandoning the paradise? Stations incentives to reduce gasoline prices at first," Working Paper Series in Economics 394, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    16. Palencia-González, Francisco J. & Navío-Marco, Julio & Juberías-Cáceres, Gema, 2020. "Analysis of brand influence in the rockets and feathers effect using disaggregated data," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    17. González, Xulia & Moral, María J., 2019. "Effects of antitrust prosecution on retail fuel prices," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    18. Christoph Kleineberg, 2020. "Market definition of the german retail gasoline industry on highways and those in the immediate vicinity," Working Paper Series in Economics 389, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    19. Martin, Simon, 2020. "Market transparency and consumer search - Evidence from the German retail gasoline market," DICE Discussion Papers 350, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).

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