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Gasoline Prices Jump Up on Mondays: An Outcome of Aggressive Competition?

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Author Info
Oystein Foros () (Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration)
Frode Steen () (Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration)

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Abstract

This paper examines Norwegian gasoline pump prices using daily station-specific observations from March 2003 to March 2006. Whereas studies that have analysed similar price cyclees in other countriees find support for the Edgeworth cycle theory (Maskin and Tirole, 1988), we demonstrate that Norwegian gasoline price cycles involve a form of coordinated behavior. We also show that gasline prices follow a fixed weekly pattern, with prices increasing significantly every Monday at noon, and that gasoline companies appear to use the recommended retail price as a coordination device with a fixed link between the retail and recommended prices. Moreover, the weekly pattern changed in April 2004; whereas Thursday had been the high-price day, Monday now became the high-price day. The price-cost margin also increased significantly after the weekly pattern changed in April 2004.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia in its series Working Papers with number 08-20.

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Length: 38 pages
Date of creation: Mar 2008
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Handle: RePEc:ccp:wpaper:wp08-20

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Related research
Keywords: gasoline prices; coordinated behavior;

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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  2. Lance J. Bachmeier & James M. Griffin, 2003. "New Evidence on Asymmetric Gasoline Price Responses," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(3), pages 772-776, 05. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Salop, Steven, 1977. "The Noisy Monopolist: Imperfect Information, Price Dispersion and Price Discrimination," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44(3), pages 393-406, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Slade, Margaret E, 1998. "Strategic Motives for Vertical Separation: Evidence from Retail Gasoline Markets," Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 14(1), pages 84-113, April.
  6. Oystein Foros & Frode Steen, 2008. "Gasoline Prices Jump Up on Mondays: An Outcome of Aggressive Competition?," Working Papers 08-20, Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Eckert, Andrew & West, Douglas S, 2004. "Retail Gasoline Price Cycles across Spatially Dispersed Gasoline Stations," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 47(1), pages 245-73, April.
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  10. 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 571-99, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Hosken, Daniel S. & McMillan, Robert S. & Taylor, Christopher T., 2008. "Retail gasoline pricing: What do we know?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 1425-1436, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  18. Stole, Lars A., 2007. "Price Discrimination and Competition," Handbook of Industrial Organization, Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Bonanno, Giacomo & Vickers, John, 1988. "Vertical Separation," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 36(3), pages 257-65, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Bettendorf, Leon & van der Geest, Stephanie A. & Varkevisser, Marco, 2003. "Price asymmetry in the Dutch retail gasoline market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 669-689, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Barla, Philippe, 2000. "Firm size inequality and market power," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 693-722, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  22. Patrick Rey & Joseph Stiglitz, 1995. "The Role of Exclusive Territories in Producers' Competition," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 26(3), pages 431-451, Autumn. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  23. Conlisk, John & Gerstner, Eitan & Sobel, Joel, 1984. "Cyclic Pricing by a Durable Goods Monopolist," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 99(3), pages 489-505, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  24. Borenstein, Severin & Cameron, A Colin & Gilbert, Richard, 1997. "Do Gasoline Prices Respond Asymmetrically to Crude Oil Price Changes?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 112(1), pages 305-39, February.
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  25. Michael D. Noel, 2008. "Edgeworth Price Cycles and Focal Prices: Computational Dynamic Markov Equilibria," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 17(2), pages 345-377, 06. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  26. Greg Shaffer, 1991. "Slotting Allowances and Resale Price Maintenance: A Comparison of Facilitating Practices," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 22(1), pages 120-135, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  27. Jullien, Bruno & Rey, Patrick, 2000. "Resale Price Maintenance and Collusion," IDEI Working Papers 102, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse. [Downloadable!]
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Riemer P. Faber & Maarten C.W. Janssen, 2008. "On the Effects of Suggested Prices in Gasoline Markets," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 08-116/1, Tinbergen Institute. [Downloadable!]
  2. Foros, Øystein & Steen, Frode, 2009. "Gasoline prices jump up on Mondays: An outcome of aggressive competition?," Discussion Papers 2009/2, Department of Finance and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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