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The Impact of Consumer Loss Aversion on Pricing

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Author Info
Heidhues, Paul
Köszegi, Botond

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Abstract

We develop a model in which a profit-maximizing monopolist with uncertain cost of production sells to loss-averse, yet rational, consumers. We first introduce (portable) techniques for analysing the demand of such consumers, and then investigate the monopolist’s pricing strategy. Compared to lower possible purchase prices, paying a higher price in the firm’s pricing distribution is assessed by consumers as a loss, decreasing demand for the firm’s product. We provide conditions under which a firm with continuously distributed marginal cost responds by (locally) eliminating this ‘comparison effect’ and choosing a discrete price distribution; that is, prices are ‘sticky’. Price stickiness is more likely to obtain when the cost distribution has high density, the price responsiveness of demand is low, or consumers are likely to purchase. Whether or not prices are sticky, the monopolist wants to at least mitigate the comparison effect, leading to countercyclical mark-ups. On the other hand, if consumers expect to buy the product, they experience a loss if they end up not consuming it, increasing their willingness to pay for it. Thus, despite the tendency toward price stability, there are also circumstances in which a firm with unchanging cost offers random ‘sales’ to increase customers’ expectation to consume, attracting more demand at high prices.

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Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 4849.

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Date of creation: Jan 2005
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Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:4849

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Related research
Keywords: (seemingly) Predatory pricing; countercyclical markups; kinked demand curve; monopoly pricing; price stickiness; promotions; reference-dependent utility; sales;

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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. Courty, Pascal & Pagliero, Mario, 2007. "Price Variation Antagonism and Firm Pricing Policies," CEPR Discussion Papers 6663, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Julio J. Rotemberg, 2008. "Behavioral Aspects of Price Setting, and Their Policy Implications," NBER Working Papers 13754, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Botond Koszegi & Matthew Rabin, 2005. "A Model of Reference-Dependent Preferences," Levine's Bibliography 784828000000000341, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  4. Jozsef Sakovics, 2007. "Reference price distortion," ESE Discussion Papers 177, Edinburgh School of Economics, University of Edinburgh. [Downloadable!]
  5. Stefano DellaVigna & Ulrike Malmendier, 2006. "Paying Not to Go to the Gym," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(3), pages 694-719, June. [Downloadable!]
  6. Teck H. Ho & Noah Lim & Colin Camerer, 2005. "Modeling the Psychology of Consumer and Firm Behavior with Behavioral Economics," Levine's Bibliography 784828000000000476, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  7. Young Han Lee & Ulrike Malmendier, 2007. "The Bidder's Curse," NBER Working Papers 13699, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Daniel Krähmer & Rebecca Stone, 2005. "Regret in Dynamic Decision Problems," Discussion Papers 71, SFB/TR 15 Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems, Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bonn, University of Mannheim, University of Munich. [Downloadable!]
  9. Nava Ashraf & James Berry & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2007. "Can Higher Prices Stimulate Product Use? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Zambia," NBER Working Papers 13247, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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