IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v174y2023ics0301421523000095.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Dynamics of the gas retail market under China's price cap regulation

Author

Listed:
  • Cui, Jian
  • Yang, Hanfang
  • Wang, Yifan
  • Yang, Caili

Abstract

To stabilise gas prices and safeguard consumer interests, China introduced a new price cap regulation for the gas retail market in 2013. This study is the first to evaluate the impact of this price cap regulation on the dynamics of retail gas prices. By using an asymmetric error correction model and Markov-switching regression based on daily gas-station-level price data from Inner Mongolia, China, we establish that retail prices respond asymmetrically to price caps, rather than crude oil prices, implying that price caps may serve as focal points for gas stations to collude tacitly. Additionally, the cyclic nature of retail prices is not obvious under the price cap regulation, which provides some evidence for the buffering effect of price caps on price cycles. Finally, we establish that price cycle characteristics differ by gas station and brand. These results may provide a better understanding of retail price dynamics in a price-cap-regulated market and guide policymakers and planners in optimising regulatory policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Cui, Jian & Yang, Hanfang & Wang, Yifan & Yang, Caili, 2023. "Dynamics of the gas retail market under China's price cap regulation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:174:y:2023:i:c:s0301421523000095
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113424
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421523000095
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113424?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhang, Xiao-Bing & Fei, Yinxin & Zheng, Ying & Zhang, Lei, 2020. "Price ceilings as focal points to reach price uniformity: Evidence from a Chinese gasoline market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    2. Esplin, Ryan & Davis, Ben & Rai, Alan & Nelson, Tim, 2020. "The impacts of price regulation on price dispersion in Australia's retail electricity markets," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    3. Zhang, Tong & Burke, Paul J., 2022. "The effect of gasoline prices on suburban housing values in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Noel, Michael D. & Chu, Lanlan, 2015. "Forecasting gasoline prices in the presence of Edgeworth Price Cycles," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 204-214.
    5. Paul Zimmerman & John Yun & Christopher Taylor, 2013. "Edgeworth Price Cycles in Gasoline: Evidence from the United States," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 42(3), pages 297-320, May.
    6. Balaguer, Jacint & Ripollés, Jordi, 2016. "Asymmetric fuel price responses under heterogeneity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 281-290.
    7. Olivier Lamotte & Thomas Porcher & Christophe Schalck & Stephan Silvestre, 2013. "Asymmetric gasoline price responses in France," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(5), pages 457-461, March.
    8. Maskin, Eric & Tirole, Jean, 1988. "A Theory of Dynamic Oligopoly, II: Price Competition, Kinked Demand Curves, and Edgeworth Cycles," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(3), pages 571-599, May.
    9. Zhang, Jin & Xie, Mingjia, 2016. "China's oil product pricing mechanism: What role does it play in China's macroeconomy?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 209-221.
    10. Godby, Rob & Lintner, Anastasia M. & Stengos, Thanasis & Wandschneider, Bo, 2000. "Testing for asymmetric pricing in the Canadian retail gasoline market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 349-368, June.
    11. Bacon, Robert W., 1991. "Rockets and feathers: the asymmetric speed of adjustment of UK retail gasoline prices to cost changes," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 211-218, July.
    12. Lucas W. Davis & Lutz Kilian, 2011. "Estimating the effect of a gasoline tax on carbon emissions," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(7), pages 1187-1214, November.
    13. Øystein Foros & Frode Steen, 2013. "Vertical Control and Price Cycles in Gasoline Retailing," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 115(3), pages 640-661, July.
    14. Doyle, Joseph & Muehlegger, Erich & Samphantharak, Krislert, 2010. "Edgeworth cycles revisited," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 651-660, May.
    15. Wang, Zanxin & Wei, Wei & Luo, Junwen & Calderon, Margaret, 2019. "The effects of petroleum product price regulation on macroeconomic stability in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 96-105.
    16. Michael D. Noel, 2007. "Edgeworth Price Cycles, Cost-Based Pricing, and Sticky Pricing in Retail Gasoline Markets," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(2), pages 324-334, May.
    17. Anindya Sen & Anthony Clemente & Linda Jonker, 2011. "Retail Gasoline Price Ceilings and Regulatory Capture: Evidence from Canada," American Law and Economics Review, American Law and Economics Association, vol. 13(2), pages 532-564.
    18. Severin Borenstein & A. Colin Cameron & Richard Gilbert, 1997. "Do Gasoline Prices Respond Asymmetrically to Crude Oil Price Changes?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(1), pages 305-339.
    19. Ju, Keyi & Su, Bin & Zhou, Dequn & Wu, Junmin, 2017. "Does energy-price regulation benefit China's economy and environment? Evidence from energy-price distortions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 108-119.
    20. Balaguer, Jacint & Ripollés, Jordi, 2012. "Testing for price response asymmetries in the Spanish fuel market. New evidence from daily data," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 2066-2071.
    21. Matthew Lewis & Michael Noel, 2011. "The Speed of Gasoline Price Response in Markets with and without Edgeworth Cycles," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(2), pages 672-682, May.
    22. Castanias, Rick & Johnson, Herb, 1993. "Gas Wars: Retail Gasoline Fluctuations," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 75(1), pages 171-174, February.
    23. Chen, Hao & Sun, Zesheng, 2021. "International crude oil price, regulation and asymmetric response of China's gasoline price," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    24. Zhongmin Wang, 2009. "(Mixed) Strategy in Oligopoly Pricing: Evidence from Gasoline Price Cycles Before and Under a Timing Regulation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 117(6), pages 987-1030, December.
    25. Chen, Dengke & Chen, Shiyi & Jin, Hao & Lu, Yulin, 2020. "The impact of energy regulation on energy intensity and energy structure: Firm-level evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    26. Contín-Pilart, Ignacio & Correljé, Aad F. & Blanca Palacios, M., 2009. "Competition, regulation, and pricing behaviour in the Spanish retail gasoline market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 219-228, January.
    27. Eckert, Andrew, 2003. "Retail price cycles and the presence of small firms," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 151-170, February.
    28. Apergis, Nicholas & Vouzavalis, Grigorios, 2018. "Asymmetric pass through of oil prices to gasoline prices: Evidence from a new country sample," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 519-528.
    29. Michael D. Noel, 2011. "Edgeworth price cycles," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics,, Palgrave Macmillan.
    30. Noel, Michael D., 2015. "Do Edgeworth price cycles lead to higher or lower prices?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 81-93.
    31. Noel, Michael D., 2012. "Edgeworth Price Cycles and intertemporal price discrimination," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 942-954.
    32. Melissa Linder, 2018. "Price cycles in the German retail gasoline market - Competition or collusion?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 38(1), pages 593-602.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michael D. Noel, 2019. "Calendar synchronization of gasoline price increases," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 355-370, April.
    2. Noel, Michael D., 2015. "Do Edgeworth price cycles lead to higher or lower prices?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 81-93.
    3. Noel, Michael D. & Chu, Lanlan, 2015. "Forecasting gasoline prices in the presence of Edgeworth Price Cycles," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 204-214.
    4. 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.
    5. Perdiguero, Jordi & Jiménez, Juan Luis, 2021. "Price coordination in the Spanish oil market: The monday effect," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    6. David P. Byrne, Gordon W. Leslie, and Roger Ware, 2015. "How do Consumers Respond to Gasoline Price Cycles?," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1).
    7. Paul Zimmerman & John Yun & Christopher Taylor, 2013. "Edgeworth Price Cycles in Gasoline: Evidence from the United States," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 42(3), pages 297-320, May.
    8. 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.
    9. Isakower, Sean & Wang, Zhongmin, 2014. "A comparison of regular price cycles in gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 445-454.
    10. Haucap, Justus & Heimeshoff, Ulrich & Siekmann, Manuel, 2015. "Price dispersion and station heterogeneity on German retail gasoline markets," DICE Discussion Papers 171, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    11. Andreoli-Versbach, Patrick & Franck, Jens-Uwe, 2015. "Endogenous price commitment, sticky and leadership pricing: Evidence from the Italian petrol market," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 32-48.
    12. Heijnen, Pim & Soetevent, Adriaan R., 2018. "Price competition on graphs," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 161-179.
    13. Deltas, George & Polemis, Michael, 2020. "Estimating retail gasoline price dynamics: The effects of sample characteristics and research design," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    14. Eibelshäuser, Steffen & Wilhelm, Sascha, 2017. "Markets Take Breaks: Dynamic Price Competition with Opening Hours," VfS Annual Conference 2017 (Vienna): Alternative Structures for Money and Banking 168247, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    15. 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).
    16. Chen, Hao & Sun, Zesheng, 2021. "International crude oil price, regulation and asymmetric response of China's gasoline price," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    17. David P Byrne & Jia Sheen Nah & Peng Xue, 2018. "Australia Has the World's Best Petrol Price Data: FuelWatch and FuelCheck," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 51(4), pages 564-577, December.
    18. Noel, Michael D., 2012. "Edgeworth Price Cycles and intertemporal price discrimination," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 942-954.
    19. Robert Clark & Jean-François Houde, 2014. "The Effect of Explicit Communication on pricing: Evidence from the Collapse of a Gasoline Cartel," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(2), pages 191-228, June.
    20. Timothy Holt & Mitsuru Igami & Simon Scheidegger, 2021. "Detecting Edgeworth Cycles," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 21.16, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Price cycles; Price cap regulation; Asymmetry; Gas retail market;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K23 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Regulated Industries and Administrative Law
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:174:y:2023:i:c:s0301421523000095. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.