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Rent seeking oligopolistic behaviour in European gasoline markets

Author

Listed:
  • Michael L Polemis

    (University of Piraeus)

  • Panagiotis N Fotis

    (Hellenic Competition Commission)

Abstract

This paper explores the asymmetric adjustment speed of gasoline price in twelve European Union (EU) countries transmitted directly in a single stage formulation. The empirical results shed new light on the taxation effect and its role to the price asymmetry nexus, pointing that in many EU countries a crude oil price increase is passed through more forcefully than a price decrease revealing a rent-seeking oligopolistic behaviour by the marketers.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael L Polemis & Panagiotis N Fotis, 2015. "Rent seeking oligopolistic behaviour in European gasoline markets," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(1), pages 827-833.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-15-00113
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    File URL: http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2015/Volume35/EB-15-V35-I1-P85.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giliola Frey & Matteo Manera, 2007. "Econometric Models Of Asymmetric Price Transmission," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 349-415, April.
    2. Polemis, Michael L. & Fotis, Panagiotis N., 2014. "The taxation effect on gasoline price asymmetry nexus: Evidence from both sides of the Atlantic," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 225-233.
    3. Greenwood-Nimmo, Matthew & Shin, Yongcheol, 2013. "Taxation and the asymmetric adjustment of selected retail energy prices in the UK," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 121(3), pages 411-416.
    4. Severin Borenstein, 1991. "Selling Costs and Switching Costs: Explaining Retail Gasoline Margins," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 22(3), pages 354-369, Autumn.
    5. Radchenko, Stanislav, 2005. "Oil price volatility and the asymmetric response of gasoline prices to oil price increases and decreases," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 708-730, September.
    6. Bachmeier, Lance, 2013. "Identification in models of gasoline pricing," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 120(1), pages 71-73.
    7. Juan Jiménez & Jordi Perdiguero, 2012. "Does Rigidity of Prices Hide Collusion?," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 41(3), pages 223-248, November.
    8. Michael Polemis, 2012. "Competition and price asymmetries in the Greek oil sector: an empirical analysis on gasoline market," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 789-817, October.
    9. Olivier Lamotte & Thomas Porcher & Christophe Schalck & Stephan Silvestre, 2013. "Asymmetric gasoline price responses in France," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(5), pages 457-461, March.
    10. Ronald Johnson, 2002. "Search Costs, Lags and Prices at the Pump," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 20(1), pages 33-50, February.
    11. Bacon, Robert W., 1991. "Rockets and feathers: the asymmetric speed of adjustment of UK retail gasoline prices to cost changes," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 211-218, July.
    12. Polemis, Michael L. & Fotis, Panagiotis N., 2013. "Do gasoline prices respond asymmetrically in the euro zone area? Evidence from cointegrated panel data analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 425-433.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Alberto Bagnai & Christian Alexander Mongeau Ospina, 2016. "Price asymmetries in the European gasoline market," a/ Working Papers Series 1602, Italian Association for the Study of Economic Asymmetries, Rome (Italy).
    2. Jonathan E. Ogbuabor & Anthony Orji & Gladys C. Aneke & Manasseh O. Charles, 2019. "Did the global financial crisis alter the oil–gasoline price relationship?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1171-1200, October.
    3. Ogbuabor, Jonathan E. & Ukwueze, Ezebuilo R. & Mba, Ifeoma C. & Ojonta, Obed I. & Orji, Anthony, 2023. "The asymmetric impact of economic policy uncertainty on global retail energy markets: Are the markets responding to the fear of the unknown?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    4. Polemis, Michael L. & Tsionas, Mike G., 2016. "An alternative semiparametric approach to the modelling of asymmetric gasoline price adjustment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 384-388.
    5. Jonathan E. Ogbuabor & God'stime O. Eigbiremolen & Charles O. Manasseh & Ifeoma C. Mba, 2018. "Asymmetric Price Transmission and Rent‐seeking in Road Fuel Markets: A Comparative Study of South Africa and Selected Eurozone Countries," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 30(3), pages 278-290, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gasoline; Rockets and feathers hypothesis; Taxation; Dynamic OLS estimator;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L0 - Industrial Organization - - General
    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance

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