IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v153y2021ics0301421521001476.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Are petrol retailers less responsive to changes in wholesale or crude oil prices when they face lower competition? The case of Greater Sydney

Author

Listed:
  • Valadkhani, Abbas
  • Anwar, Sajid
  • Ghazanfari, Arezoo
  • Nguyen, Jeremy

Abstract

Market efficiency is distorted when retailers are unwilling to pass on changes in wholesale costs or the price of oil (as a major production input cost) to motorists. Existing approaches to measuring pass-through parameters may obscure such behaviour because of the use of fixed-parameter models and/or aggregated price data across different locations and brands over time. We contribute to the literature by examining if there is a mismatch between wholesale and retail petrol prices across different brands supplying unleaded petrol within the same geographical location. To do so, we examine the effects of upstream shocks, arising from changes in oil or wholesale petrol prices, on the retail petrol prices of 672 stations in Sydney, Australia's largest city. We find that the pass-through parameters are significantly lower for stations with fewer competitors in their immediate proximity. When there are fewer than 13 petrol stations within a 5-km radius, or 33 stations within 10 km, irrespective of their brand, they become increasingly less responsive to changes in the wholesale petrol price or the price of crude oil. Our findings enhance market transparency and provide regulators with a rule of thumb that allows them to monitor the unleaded petrol market more effectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Valadkhani, Abbas & Anwar, Sajid & Ghazanfari, Arezoo & Nguyen, Jeremy, 2021. "Are petrol retailers less responsive to changes in wholesale or crude oil prices when they face lower competition? The case of Greater Sydney," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:153:y:2021:i:c:s0301421521001476
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112278
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421521001476
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112278?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marion, Justin & Muehlegger, Erich, 2011. "Fuel tax incidence and supply conditions," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(9), pages 1202-1212.
    2. Emek Basker (ed.), 2016. "Handbook on the Economics of Retailing and Distribution," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15905.
    3. Demet Yilmazkuday & Hakan Yilmazkuday, 2016. "Understanding gasoline price dispersion," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 57(1), pages 223-252, July.
    4. Ederington, Louis H. & Fernando, Chitru S. & Hoelscher, Seth A. & Lee, Thomas K. & Linn, Scott C., 2019. "A review of the evidence on the relation between crude oil prices and petroleum product prices," Journal of Commodity Markets, Elsevier, vol. 13(C), pages 1-15.
    5. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-569 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Kang, Wensheng & de Gracia, Fernando Perez & Ratti, Ronald A., 2019. "The asymmetric response of gasoline prices to oil price shocks and policy uncertainty," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 66-79.
    7. Gerhard Clemenz & Klaus Gugler, 2006. "Locational choice and price competition: some empirical results for the austrian retail gasoline market," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 291-312, June.
    8. Jens-Peter Loy & Carsten Steinhagen & Christoph Weiss & Birgit Koch, 2018. "Price transmission and local market power: empirical evidence from the Austrian gasoline market," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(53), pages 5728-5746, November.
    9. Atil, Ahmed & Lahiani, Amine & Nguyen, Duc Khuong, 2014. "Asymmetric and nonlinear pass-through of crude oil prices to gasoline and natural gas prices," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 567-573.
    10. Dieter Pennerstorfer, 2009. "Spatial price competition in retail gasoline markets: evidence from Austria," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 43(1), pages 133-158, March.
    11. 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.
    12. Andrew Eckert, 2013. "Empirical Studies Of Gasoline Retailing: A Guide To The Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 140-166, February.
    13. Lahiani, Amine & Miloudi, Anthony & Benkraiem, Ramzi & Shahbaz, Muhammad, 2017. "Another look on the relationships between oil prices and energy prices," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 318-331.
    14. Apergis, Nicholas & Vouzavalis, Grigorios, 2018. "Asymmetric pass through of oil prices to gasoline prices: Evidence from a new country sample," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 519-528.
    15. Bumpass, Donald & Ginn, Vance & Tuttle, M.H., 2015. "Retail and wholesale gasoline price adjustments in response to oil price changes," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(PA), pages 49-54.
    16. Jushan Bai & Pierre Perron, 2003. "Computation and analysis of multiple structural change models," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(1), pages 1-22.
    17. repec:prg:jnlpep:v:preprint:id:693:p:1-39 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Colin Bermingham & Derry O'Brien, 2011. "Testing for Asymmetric Pricing Behaviour in Irish and UK Petrol and Diesel Markets," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3), pages 1-26.
    19. Jeremy A. Verlinda, 2008. "Do Rockets Rise Faster And Feathers Fall Slower In An Atmosphere Of Local Market Power? Evidence From The Retail Gasoline Market," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 581-612, September.
    20. Valadkhani, Abbas, 2013. "Do petrol prices rise faster than they fall when the market shows significant disequilibria?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 66-80.
    21. Bagnai, Alberto & Mongeau Ospina, Christian Alexander, 2015. "Long- and short-run price asymmetries and hysteresis in the Italian gasoline market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 41-50.
    22. 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.
    23. Thomas E. Cooper & John T. Jones, 2007. "Asymmetric Competition on Commuter Routes: The Case of Gasoline Pricing," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 74(2), pages 483-504, October.
    24. Jonathan E. Ogbuabor & Anthony Orji & Richardson K. Edeme & Ezebuilo R. Ukwueze, 2019. "Structural Change, Exchange Rate and the Asymmetric Adjustment of Retail Energy Prices in Europe," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2019(2), pages 196-234.
    25. Jordi Perdiguero & Joan Ramon Borrell, 2019. "Driving competition in local markets with near-perfect substitutes: an application on the Spanish retail gasoline market," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 345-364, July.
    26. Wills-Johnson, Nick & Bloch, Harry, 2010. "A simple spatial model for Edgeworth Cycles," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 108(3), pages 334-336, September.
    27. Polanco Martínez, Josué M. & Abadie, Luis M. & Fernández-Macho, J., 2018. "A multi-resolution and multivariate analysis of the dynamic relationships between crude oil and petroleum-product prices," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 1550-1560.
    28. Valadkhani, Abbas & Smyth, Russell, 2018. "Asymmetric responses in the timing, and magnitude, of changes in Australian monthly petrol prices to daily oil price changes," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 89-100.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Li, Sisi & Khan, Sufyan Ullah & Yao, Yao & Chen, George S. & Zhang, Lin & Salim, Ruhul & Huo, Jiaying, 2022. "Estimating the long-run crude oil demand function of China: Some new evidence and policy options," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    2. Arezoo Ghazanfari & Armin Razmjoo, 2022. "The Effect of Market Isolation on Competitive Behavior in Retail Petrol Markets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-33, July.
    3. Francisco Teixeira Raeder & Niagara Rodrigues & Luciano Dias Losekann, 2022. "Asymmetry in Gasoline Price Transmission: How do Fuel Pricing Strategy and the Ethanol Addition Mandate Affect Consumers?," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 12(4), pages 517-527, July.
    4. Arezoo Ghazanfari, 2022. "What Drives Petrol Price Dispersion across Australian Cities?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-24, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. D. O. Olayungbo & T. A. Ojeyinka, 2022. "Crude oil prices pass-through to retail petroleum product prices in Nigeria: evidence from hidden cointegration approach," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 951-972, May.
    2. Jing Xu & Alan T. Murray, 2019. "Spatial variability in retail gasoline markets," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 581-603, June.
    3. Palencia-González, Francisco J. & Navío-Marco, Julio & Juberías-Cáceres, Gema, 2020. "Analysis of brand influence in the rockets and feathers effect using disaggregated data," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    4. Balaguer, Jacint & Ripollés, Jordi, 2020. "Do classes of gas stations contribute differently to fuel prices? Evidence to foster effective competition in Spain," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    5. Oczkowski, Edward & Wong, Alfred & Sharma, Kishor, 2018. "The impact of major fuel retailers on regional New South Wales petrol prices," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 44-59.
    6. Deltas, George & Polemis, Michael, 2020. "Estimating retail gasoline price dynamics: The effects of sample characteristics and research design," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    7. Bragoudakis, Zacharias & Degiannakis, Stavros & Filis, George, 2019. "Oil and pump prices: Is there any asymmetry in the Greek oil downstream sector?," MPRA Paper 95407, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Bragoudakis, Zacharias & Degiannakis, Stavros & Filis, George, 2020. "Oil and pump prices: Testing their asymmetric relationship in a robust way," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    9. repec:dgr:rugsom:14027-eef is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Oladosu, Gbadebo, 2022. "Bubbles in US gasoline prices: Assessing the role of hurricanes and anti–price gouging laws," Journal of Commodity Markets, Elsevier, vol. 27(C).
    11. Bruzikas, Tadas & Soetevent, Adriaan, 2014. "Detailed data and changes in market structure," Research Report 14027-EEF, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).
    12. Farkas, Richárd & Yontcheva, Biliana, 2019. "Price transmission in the presence of a vertically integrated dominant firm: Evidence from the gasoline market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 223-237.
    13. He, Yongda & Lin, Boqiang, 2023. "Is market power the cause of asymmetric pricing in China's refined oil market?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    14. Tadas Bruzikas & Adriaan R. Soetevent, 2014. "Detailed Data and Changes in Market Structure: The Move to Unmanned Gasoline Service Stations," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 14-123/VII, Tinbergen Institute.
    15. Valadkhani, Abbas & Smyth, Russell & Vahid, Farshid, 2015. "Asymmetric pricing of diesel at its source," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(PA), pages 183-194.
    16. Satoh, Eiji & Iwase, Ryusuke & Kamakura, Keita & Sawasato, Shinji & Tominaga, Saki, 2018. "Consumer search costs, geographical concentration, and retail gasoline pricing: Evidence from inland Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-8.
    17. Nguyen-Ones, Mai & Steen, Frode, 2018. "Measuring Market Power in Gasoline Retailing: A Market- or Station Phenomenon?," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 6/2018, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    18. Noel, Michael D. & Qiang, Hongjie, 2019. "The role of information in retail gasoline price dispersion," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 173-187.
    19. Hamid Baghestani & Jorg Bley, 2020. "Do directional predictions of US gasoline prices reveal asymmetries?," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 44(2), pages 348-360, April.
    20. Bakhat, Mohcine & Rosselló, Jaume & Sansó, Andreu, 2022. "Price transmission between oil and gasoline and diesel: A new measure for evaluating time asymmetries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    21. Cook, Steven & Fosten, Jack, 2019. "Replicating rockets and feathers," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 139-151.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Unleaded petrol; Retail price; Threshold regressions; Australia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C24 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Truncated and Censored Models; Switching Regression Models; Threshold Regression Models
    • D40 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - General
    • L50 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - General
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • Q43 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Energy and the Macroeconomy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:153:y:2021:i:c:s0301421521001476. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.