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One product, two prices: the border effect in retail prices

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  • Messner, Teresa
  • Rumler, Fabio
  • Strasser, Georg

Abstract

(Why) do prices and inflation rates differ within the euro area? We study the relevance of a national border for grocery prices in the otherwise homogenous and highly integrated border region between Austria and Germany. Using transaction data on prices and quantities from a large household panel survey, we compare the prices of identical products within a narrow band along the border. We find large assortment and price differences between the two countries. Even within multinational retail chains the prices of identical products on each side of the border differ on average by about 21%. These price differences are not very persistent, indicating little arbitrage gain from undifferentiated cross-border shopping. Product-level inflation rates differ for only half of the retail chains. Our results highlight the importance of the historical evolution of distribution networks and of the structure of the sales organisation as a driver of price and inflation heterogeneity. JEL Classification: D12, E31, D43, F15, F4

Suggested Citation

  • Messner, Teresa & Rumler, Fabio & Strasser, Georg, 2023. "One product, two prices: the border effect in retail prices," Research Bulletin, European Central Bank, vol. 106.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbrbu:2023:0106:
    Note: 1137785
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Linda L. Tesar, 2009. "Border Effect or Country Effect? Seattle May Not Be So Far from Vancouver After All," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 219-241, January.
    2. Engel, Charles & Rogers, John H, 1996. "How Wide Is the Border?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(5), pages 1112-1125, December.
    3. Méjean, Isabelle & Schwellnus, Cyrille, 2009. "Price convergence in the European Union: Within firms or composition of firms?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 1-10, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    border effect; cross-border arbitrage; goods market integration; market power; Price discrimination;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F4 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance

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