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Prices, Spatial Competition, and Heterogenous Producers: An Empirical Test

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Chad Syverson

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Abstract

In markets where spatial competition is important, many models predict that average prices are lower in denser markets (i.e., those with more producers per unit area). Homogeneous-producer models attribute this effect solely to lower optimal markups. However, when producers instead differ in their production costs, a second mechanism also acts to lower equilibrium prices: competition-driven selection on costs. Consumers%u2019 greater substitution possibilities in denser markets make it more difficult for high-cost firms to profitably operate, truncating the equilibrium cost (and price) distributions from above. This selection process can be empirically distinguished from the homogenous-producer case because it implies that not only do average prices fall as density rises, but that upper-bound prices and price dispersion should also decline as well. I find empirical support for this process using a rich set of price data from U.S. readymixed concrete plants. Features of the industry offer an arguably exogenous source of producer density variation with which to identify these effects. I also show that the findings do not simply result from lower factor prices in dense markets, but rather because dense-market producers have low costs because they are more efficient.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 12231.

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Date of creation: May 2006
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12231

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
L0 - Industrial Organization - - General
L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure and Pricing
L6 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing

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  2. Joe Beaulieu & Joe Mattey, 1999. "The Effects Of General Inflation And Idiosyncratic Cost Shocks On Within-Commodity Price Dispersion: Evidence From Microdata," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(2), pages 205-216, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Marcus Asplund & Volker Nocke, 2003. "Firm Turnover in Imperfectly Competitive Markets," PIER Working Paper Archive 03-010, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania. [Downloadable!]
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  9. Lucia Foster & John Haltiwanger & Chad Syverson, 2005. "Reallocation, Firm Turnover, and Efficiency: Selection on Productivity or Profitability?," Working Papers 05-11, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Saul Lach, 2002. "Existence And Persistence Of Price Dispersion: An Empirical Analysis," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(3), pages 433-444, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Lucia Foster & John Haltiwanger & C. J Krizan, 2006. "Market Selection, Reallocation, and Restructuring in the U.S. Retail Trade Sector in the 1990s," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(4), pages 748-758, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Chad Syverson, 2004. "Market Structure and Productivity: A Concrete Example," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(6), pages 1181-1222, December.
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  19. Bresnahan, Timothy F & Reiss, Peter C, 1991. "Entry and Competition in Concentrated Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(5), pages 977-1009, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  20. repec:rus:hseeco:122439 is not listed on IDEAS
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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. Ali Hortacsu & Chad Syverson, 2007. "Cementing Relationships: Vertical Integration, Foreclosure, Productivity, and Prices," NBER Working Papers 12894, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Lucia Foster & John Haltiwanger & Chad Syverson, 2005. "Reallocation, Firm Turnover, and Efficiency: Selection on Productivity or Profitability?," Working Papers 05-11, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. MORIKAWA Masayuki, 2008. "Economies of Density and Productivity in Service Industries: An Analysis of Personal-Service Industries Based on Establishment-Level Data," Discussion papers 08023, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI). [Downloadable!]
  4. Toshihiro Okubo & Pierre M. Picard & Jacques-François Thisse, 2008. "The spatial selection of heterogeneous firms," Discussion Paper Series 229, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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