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The Causal Effect of Competition on Prices and Quality: Evidence from a Field Experiment

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  • Matias Busso
  • Sebastian Galiani

Abstract

This paper provides experimental evidence on the effect of increased competition on prices and quality in the retail sector. We randomized the entry of 61 firms into 72 markets serving the beneficiaries of a conditional cash transfer program in the Dominican Republic. Six months after the intervention entry into the market led to reductions in prices ranging from 2 to 6 percent and to a statistically significant improvement in self-reported service quality. Prices dropped more in areas where the number of entrants was larger. Competition seems to have driven part of the clientele away from incumbent retailers.

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  • Matias Busso & Sebastian Galiani, 2019. "The Causal Effect of Competition on Prices and Quality: Evidence from a Field Experiment," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 33-56, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejapp:v:11:y:2019:i:1:p:33-56
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.20150310
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    9. Casaburi, Lorenzo & Reed, Tristan, 2017. "Competition in Agricultural Markets: An Experimental Approach," CEPR Discussion Papers 11985, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Ivan Werning, 2018. "Dynamic Oligopoly and Price Stickiness," 2018 Meeting Papers 1029, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    11. James G. MacKinnon & Morten {O}rregaard Nielsen & Matthew D. Webb, 2022. "Leverage, Influence, and the Jackknife in Clustered Regression Models: Reliable Inference Using summclust," Papers 2205.03288, arXiv.org.
    12. Sarah Baird & Aislinn Bohren & Craig McIntosh & Berk Ozler, 2015. "Designing Experiments to Measure Spillover Effects, Second Version," PIER Working Paper Archive 15-021, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, revised 01 Jun 2015.
    13. Blum, Florian, 2020. "The value of discretion: Price-caps and public service delivery," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    14. Juan Pablo Atala & José Ignacio Cuesta & Felipe González & Cristóbal Otero, 2021. "The Economics of the Public Option: Evidence from Local Pharmaceutical Markets," Documentos de Trabajo 561, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
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    17. Kazuhiro Takauchi & Tomomichi Mizuno, 2019. "Is competition in the transport industry bad?A welfare analysis of R&D with inter-regional transportation," Discussion Papers 1910, Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology

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