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Increased market transparency in Germany's gasoline market: What about rockets and feathers?

Author

Listed:
  • Frondel, Manuel
  • Horvath, Marco
  • Vance, Colin
  • Kihm, Alexander

Abstract

Drawing on panel data on daily fuel prices covering over 5,000 filling stations in Germany, this paper documents a change in the stations' price setting behavior following the introduction of a legally mandated online price portal in 2013. Prior to the portal, positive asymmetry is found on the basis of error correction models, with prices following the "rockets and feathers" pattern that is typically found for fuels. In the aftermath of the portal, by contrast, negative asymmetry is observed: fuel price decreases in response to refinery price decreases are stronger than fuel price increases due to refinery price increases.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:810
    DOI: 10.4419/86788939
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Emmanuel Asane-Otoo & C. Dannemann, 2021. "Station heterogeneity and asymmetric gasoline price responses," Working Papers V-436-21, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Aug 2021.
    2. Palencia-González, Francisco J. & Navío-Marco, Julio & Juberías-Cáceres, Gema, 2020. "Analysis of brand influence in the rockets and feathers effect using disaggregated data," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    retail markets; competition; error correction model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices

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