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Prices and market structure: an empirical analysis of the supermarket industry in Chile

Author

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  • Loreto Lira
  • Magdalena Ugarte
  • Rodrigo Vergara

Abstract

This article investigates empirically the relationship between market structure and consumer prices in the supermarket industry in Chile. A panel of monthly data from 16 cities in the period January 1998--September 2006 is used. We find that, the more concentrated the industry in a city, the higher the prices, while the participation of major national chains in cities tends to lower prices. In terms of magnitude, this latter effect prevails over the former. Moreover, the dominant local chain is found to behave differently depending on whether or not one of the national chains is present in the city. Finally, we find that prices rise when a national chain acquires another chain and both were previously in a city (inmerge) while if only one of the two was present (outmerge), prices fall.

Suggested Citation

  • Loreto Lira & Magdalena Ugarte & Rodrigo Vergara, 2012. "Prices and market structure: an empirical analysis of the supermarket industry in Chile," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(36), pages 4731-4744, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:44:y:2012:i:36:p:4731-4744
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2011.595689
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Asplund, Marcus & Friberg, Richard, 2002. " Food Prices and Market Structure in Sweden," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 104(4), pages 547-566, December.
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    9. Dario Focarelli & Fabio Panetta, 2003. "Are Mergers Beneficial to Consumers? Evidence from the Market for Bank Deposits," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1152-1172, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gastón Chaumont & Miguel Fuentes & Felipe Labbé & Alberto Naudon, 2011. "A Reassessment of Flexible Price Evidence Using Scanner Data: Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 641, Central Bank of Chile.
    2. Caglayan, Mustafa & Filiztekin, Alpay, 2015. "Price dynamics and market segmentation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 94-97.
    3. Bykadorov Igor, 2010. "Product Diversity in a Vertical Distribution Channel under Monopolistic Competition," EERC Working Paper Series 10/03e, EERC Research Network, Russia and CIS.
    4. Gastón Chaumont & Miguel Fuentes & Felipe Labbé & Alberto Naudon, 2011. "Dinámica de Precios en Chile: Evidencia con datos de Supermercados," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 642, Central Bank of Chile.
    5. Koski, Heli, 2018. "How Do Competition Policy and Data Brokers Shape Product Market Competition?," ETLA Working Papers 61, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • 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

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