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Public Policy and Market Competition: How the Master Settlement Agreement Changed the Cigarette Industry

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  • Ciliberto Federico

    (University of Virginia)

  • Kuminoff Nicolai V

    (Arizona State University)

Abstract

This paper investigates the large and unexpected increase in cigarette prices that followed the 1997 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). We integrate key features of rational addiction theory into a discrete-choice model of the demand for a differentiated product. We find that following the MSA firms set prices on a more elastic region of their demand curves. Using these estimates, we predict prices that would be charged under a variety of industry structures and pricing rules. Under the assumptions of firms' perfect foresight and constant marginal costs, we fail to reject the hypothesis that firms collude on a dynamic pricing strategy.

Suggested Citation

  • Ciliberto Federico & Kuminoff Nicolai V, 2010. "Public Policy and Market Competition: How the Master Settlement Agreement Changed the Cigarette Industry," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-46, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejeap:v:10:y:2010:i:1:n:63
    DOI: 10.2202/1935-1682.2362
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    2. Bartosz Olesiński, 2020. "The Analysis of the Tobacco Product Bans Using a Random Coefficients Logit Model," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 12(2), pages 113-144, June.
    3. Hong Liu & John A. Rizzo & Qi Sun & Fang Wu, 2015. "How Do Smokers Respond to Cigarette Taxes? Evidence from China's Cigarette Industry," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(10), pages 1314-1330, October.
    4. Vivienne Pham & David Prentice, 2013. "A Random Coefficients Logit Analysis of the Counterfactual: A Merger and Divestiture in the Australian Cigarette Industry," Working Papers 2013.04, School of Economics, La Trobe University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    cigarettes; Master Settlement Agreement; discrete choice; demand; competition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L41 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices
    • H32 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Firm

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