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Within- and cross-country price dispersion in the euro area

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  • Rumler, Fabio
  • Reiff, Adam

Abstract

Using a comprehensive data set on retail prices across the euro area, we analyse within- and cross-country price dispersion in European countries. First, we study price dispersion over time, by investigating the time-series evolution of the coefficient of variation, calculated from price levels. Second, since we find that cross-sectional price dispersion by far dominates price dispersion over time, we study price dispersion across space and investigate the role of geographical barriers (distance and national borders). We find that (i) prices move together more closely in locations that are closer to each other; (ii) cross-country price dispersion is by an order of magnitude larger than within-country price dispersion, even after controlling for product heterogeneity; (iii) a large part of cross- country price differences can be explained by different tax rates, income levels and consumption intensities. In addition, we find some indication that price dispersion in the euro area has declined since the inception of the Monetary Union. JEL Classification: E31, F41

Suggested Citation

  • Rumler, Fabio & Reiff, Adam, 2014. "Within- and cross-country price dispersion in the euro area," Working Paper Series 1742, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20141742
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Messner, Teresa & Rumler, Fabio & Strasser, Georg, 2022. "Cross-country price and inflation dispersion: Retail network or national border," Single Market Economics Papers WP2022/11, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (European Commission), Chief Economist Team.
    2. Mike Nyawo & Neil Rankin, 2020. "Price adjustment after hyperinflation in Zimbabwe," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(2), pages 240-256, June.
    3. Dudley Cooke, 2019. "Consumer Search, Incomplete Exchange Rate Pass‐Through, and Optimal Interest Rate Policy," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 51(2-3), pages 455-484, March.
    4. Marc Audi & Amjad Ali, 2023. "The Role of Environmental Conditions and Purchasing Power Parity in Determining Quality of Life among Big Asian Cities," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 13(3), pages 292-305, May.
    5. Jan Stráský, 2016. "Priorities for completing the European Union's Single Market," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1315, OECD Publishing.
    6. Beck, Guenter W. & Kotz, Hans-Helmut & Zabelina, Natalia, 2020. "Price gaps at the border: Evidence from multi-country household scanner data," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    7. Beck, Günter W. & Kotz, Hans-Helmut & Zabelina, Natalia, 2016. "Prices and consumer purchasing preferences at the border: Evidence from a multi-country household scanner data set," CFS Working Paper Series 536, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    border effect; international relative prices; price dispersion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • F41 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Open Economy Macroeconomics

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