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Vertical relations, pass-through, and market definition: Evidence from grocery retailing

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  • Haucap, Justus
  • Heimeshoff, Ulrich
  • Klein, Gordon J.
  • Rickert, Dennis
  • Wey, Christian

Abstract

We examine how different pass-through rates from input prices to retail prices and different vertical contracts affect upstream market definition. Simple theoretical considerations suggest that vertical restraints induce higher pass-through rates and thus lead to a larger upstream market definition when compared to linear wholesale pricing, given that contracts with linear pricing are associated with lower pass-through rates under imperfect competition. Data from grocery retailing is used to quantify the empirical implications of our theoretical assertion. We find that resale price maintenance leads to larger upstream market definitions than linear pricing. We therefore advise competition authorities to carefully model vertical market structures, whenever they expect incomplete pass-through to be important.

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  • Haucap, Justus & Heimeshoff, Ulrich & Klein, Gordon J. & Rickert, Dennis & Wey, Christian, 2021. "Vertical relations, pass-through, and market definition: Evidence from grocery retailing," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:74:y:2021:i:c:s0167718720301168
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijindorg.2020.102693
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    Cited by:

    1. Philippe Gagnepain & Stéphane Gauthier, 2021. "Strategic uncertainty and market size: An illustration on the Wright amendment," Working Papers halshs-03359597, HAL.
    2. Alisa Frey & Justus Haucap, 2024. "VAT pass-through: the case of a large and permanent reduction in the market for menstrual hygiene products," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 31(1), pages 160-202, February.
    3. Sébastien Houde & Wenjun Wang, 2022. "The Incidence of the U.S.-China Solar Trade War," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 22/372, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Market definition; Vertical relations; Pass-through; Structural models;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • L4 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies
    • L8 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services
    • C5 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling

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