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Consumer Search in Retail Gasoline Markets

Author

Listed:
  • David P. Byrne

    (University of Melbourne)

  • Nicolas de Roos

    (University of Sydney)

Abstract

This paper develops novel direct tests for search behavior in retail gasoline markets. We exploit a unique market-level dataset that allows us to directly measure search intensity with daily web traffic data from a gasoline price reporting website and perfectly measure daily changes in price levels and dispersion. Our simple yet powerful tests provide strong evidence of both cross-sectional and intertemporal price search behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • David P. Byrne & Nicolas de Roos, 2015. "Consumer Search in Retail Gasoline Markets," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 1197, The University of Melbourne.
    • Handle: RePEc:mlb:wpaper:1197
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David P. Byrne, & Gordon Leslie, 2013. "How do Co nsumers Respond to Gasoline," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 1176, The University of Melbourne.
    2. Matthew S. Lewis & Howard P. Marvel, 2011. "When Do Consumers Search?," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 457-483, September.
    3. 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).
    4. Julio J. Rotemberg, 2011. "Fair Pricing," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 9(5), pages 952-981, October.
    5. Matthew S. Lewis, 2011. "Asymmetric Price Adjustment and Consumer Search: An Examination of the Retail Gasoline Market," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 409-449, June.
    6. Michael D. Noel, 2007. "Edgeworth Price Cycles: Evidence From The Toronto Retail Gasoline Market," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 69-92, March.
    7. Sam Peltzman, 2000. "Prices Rise Faster than They Fall," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(3), pages 466-502, June.
    8. Babur De Los Santos & Ali Hortacsu & Matthijs R. Wildenbeest, 2012. "Testing Models of Consumer Search Using Data on Web Browsing and Purchasing Behavior," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(6), pages 2955-2980, October.
    9. Martin Pesendorfer, 2002. "Retail Sales: A Study of Pricing Behavior in Supermarkets," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 75(1), pages 33-66, January.
    10. Jeffrey R. Brown & Austan Goolsbee, 2002. "Does the Internet Make Markets More Competitive? Evidence from the Life Insurance Industry," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(3), pages 481-507, June.
    11. 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.
    12. Lewis, Matthew S., 2012. "Price leadership and coordination in retail gasoline markets with price cycles," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 342-351.
    13. Tülin Erdem & Susumu Imai & Michael Keane, 2003. "Brand and Quantity Choice Dynamics Under Price Uncertainty," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 5-64, March.
    14. Michael R. Baye & John Morgan & Patrick Scholten, 2006. "Information, Search, and Price Dispersion," Working Papers 2006-11, Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Department of Business Economics and Public Policy.
    15. Andrew Eckert, 2013. "Empirical Studies Of Gasoline Retailing: A Guide To The Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 140-166, February.
    16. Nicolas de Roos & Hajime Katayama, 2013. "Gasoline Price Cycles Under Discrete Time Pricing," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 89(285), pages 175-193, June.
    17. Ambarish Chandra & Mariano Tappata, 2011. "Consumer search and dynamic price dispersion: an application to gasoline markets," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 42(4), pages 681-704, December.
    18. 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.
    19. Alan T. Sorensen, 2000. "Equilibrium Price Dispersion in Retail Markets for Prescription Drugs," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(4), pages 833-862, August.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Elliott, Robert & Sun, Puyang & Zhu, Tong, 2020. "Shell shocked: The impact of foreign entry on the gasoline retail market in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. Jeisson Cárdenas & Jesús Otero & Luis H. Gutiérrez, 2022. "Search intensity, search time and prices: evidence from retail diesel markets in France," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4797-4807, December.
    5. Alderighi, Marco & Nicolini, Marcella, 2022. "Strategic information disclosure in vertical markets," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    6. Holmes, Mark J. & Otero, Jesús, 2023. "Asymmetric behaviour and the 9-ending pricing of retail gasoline," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PC).
    7. Arezoo Ghazanfari & Armin Razmjoo, 2022. "The Effect of Market Isolation on Competitive Behavior in Retail Petrol Markets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-33, July.
    8. Øystein Foros & Mai Nguyen-Ones & Frode Steen, 2021. "The Effects of a Day off from Retail Price Competition: Evidence on Consumer Behavior and Firm Performance in Gasoline Retailing," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 49-87, January.
    9. Franco Mairuzzo & Peter Ormosi, 2022. "Do the poor pay more for increasing market concentration? A study of retail petroleum," Working Paper series, University of East Anglia, Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) 2021-08, Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    10. Horvath, Marco, 2019. "Germany's market transparency unit for fuels: Fostering collusion or competition?," Ruhr Economic Papers 836, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    11. Thomas Wein, 2021. "Why Abandon the Paradise? Stations’ Incentives to Reduce Gasoline Prices at First," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 465-504, December.
    12. Jens‐Peter Loy & Dieter Pennerstorfer & Daniela Rroshi & Christoph Weiss & Biliana Yontcheva, 2022. "Consumer Information and Price Transmission: Empirical Evidence," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(3), pages 631-683, September.
    13. Frondel, Manuel & Horvath, Marco & Vance, Colin & Kihm, Alexander, 2019. "Increased market transparency in Germany's gasoline market: What about rockets and feathers?," Ruhr Economic Papers 810, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    14. Oczkowski, Edward & Wong, Alfred & Sharma, Kishor, 2018. "The impact of major fuel retailers on regional New South Wales petrol prices," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 44-59.
    15. Sven Heim, 2021. "Asymmetric cost pass-through and consumer search: empirical evidence from online platforms," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 227-260, June.
    16. Pessoa, João Paulo & Rezende, Leonardo & Assunção, Juliano, 2019. "Flex cars and competition in fuel retail markets," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 145-184.
    17. 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.
    18. Noel, Michael D. & Qiang, Hongjie, 2019. "The role of information in retail gasoline price dispersion," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 173-187.
    19. Michael D. Noel, 2019. "Calendar synchronization of gasoline price increases," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 355-370, April.
    20. Janssen, Maarten & Gugler, Klaus & Heim, Sven & Liebensteiner , Mario, 2018. "Market Liberalization: Price Dispersion, Price Discrimination and Consumer Search in the German Electricity Markets," CEPR Discussion Papers 13197, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    21. Felix Montag & Alina Sagimuldina & Monika Schnitzer, 2021. "Does Tax Policy Work When Consumers Have Imperfect Price Information? Theory and Evidence," CESifo Working Paper Series 9138, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    search; price dispersion; retail gasoline;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty
    • L8 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services

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