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Price Controls and Market Structure: Evidence from Gasoline Retail Markets

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  • Juan Esteban Carranza
  • Robert Clark
  • Jean-François Houde

Abstract

type="main"> In this paper we study the effect of price floor regulations on the organization and performance of markets. The standard interpretation of the effects of these policies is concerned with short-run market distortions associated with excess supply. Since price controls prevent markets from clearing, they lead to higher prices. While this analysis may be correct in the short-run, it does not consider the dynamic equilibrium consequences of price controls. We demonstrate that price floor regulations can have important long-run effects on the the structure of markets by crowding them and creating endogenous barriers to entry for low-cost retailers. Moreover, we show that these factors can indirectly lower productivity and possibly even prices. We test this in the context of an actual regulation imposed in the retail gasoline market in the Canadian province of Québec and show that the policy led to more competition between smaller/less efficient stations. This resulted in lowered sales, and, despite the reduction in efficiency, did not increase prices.

Suggested Citation

  • Juan Esteban Carranza & Robert Clark & Jean-François Houde, 2015. "Price Controls and Market Structure: Evidence from Gasoline Retail Markets," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(1), pages 152-198, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:jindec:v:63:y:2015:i:1:p:152-198
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/joie.12071
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    Cited by:

    1. Justus Haucap & Ulrich Heimeshoff & Manuel Siekmann, 2017. "Fuel Prices and Station Heterogeneity on Retail Gasoline Markets," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 6).
    2. Felix Montag & Robin Mamrak & Alina Sagimuldina & Monika Schnitzer, 2023. "Imperfect Price Information, Market Power, and Tax Pass-Through," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 414, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    3. Noriaki Matsushima & Akira Miyaoka, 2013. "Who benefits from resale-below-cost laws?," ISER Discussion Paper 0875, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University.
    4. Becker, Maike & Pfeifer, Gregor & Schweikert, Karsten, 2021. "Price Effects of the Austrian Fuel Price Fixing Act: A Synthetic Control Study," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    5. Julio César Arteaga & Daniel Flores, 2022. "Price Regulation and Fraud—with Special Emphasis on Gasoline Retailing," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 60(2), pages 175-192, March.
    6. Haucap, Justus & Heimeshoff, Ulrich & Siekmann, Manuel, 2016. "Selling gasoline as a by-product: The impact of market structure on local prices," DICE Discussion Papers 240, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    7. 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.
    8. Christos Genakos & Mario Pagliero, 2022. "Competition and Pass-Through: Evidence from Isolated Markets," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 35-57, October.
    9. Valeria Bernardo, 2018. "The effect of entry restrictions on price: evidence from the retail gasoline market," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 75-99, February.
    10. Haucap, Justus & Heimeshoff, Ulrich & Siekmann, Manuel, 2015. "Price dispersion and station heterogeneity on German retail gasoline markets," DICE Discussion Papers 171, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    11. Soetevent, Adriaan R. & Bružikas, Tadas, 2018. "The impact of process innovation on prices: Evidence from automated fuel retailing in The Netherlands," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 181-196.
    12. Zhang, Xiao-Bing & Fei, Yinxin & Zheng, Ying & Zhang, Lei, 2020. "Price ceilings as focal points to reach price uniformity: Evidence from a Chinese gasoline market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    13. Dieter Pennerstorfer & Philipp Schmidt‐Dengler & Nicolas Schutz & Christoph Weiss & Biliana Yontcheva, 2020. "Information And Price Dispersion: Theory And Evidence," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 61(2), pages 871-899, May.
    14. Jorge Lemus & Fernando Luco, 2021. "Price Leadership and Uncertainty About Future Costs," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(2), pages 305-337, June.
    15. Nikolic, Adriana & Weiss, Christoph, 2014. "Spatial interactions in location decisions: Empirical evidence from a Bayesian spatial probit model," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 177, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    16. Andrew Eckert & Heather Eckert, 2014. "Regional Patterns in Gasoline Station Rationalization in Canada," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 99-122, March.
    17. Fotis, Panagiotis & Polemis, Michael, 2018. "The impact of market deregulation on milk price: A dynamic panel data approach," MPRA Paper 86542, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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