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A Market With Frictions In The Matching Process: An Experimental Study

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  • Timothy N. Cason
  • Charles Noussair

Abstract

We construct a laboratory market in which there is a friction in the matching between buyers and sellers. Sellers simultaneously post prices and then buyers simultaneously choose a seller. If more than one buyer chooses the same seller, the seller's single unit is randomly sold to one of them. Our results show a broad consistency with theoretical predictions, although price dispersion exists and is slow to decay. Prices also exceed the equilibrium level when there are only two sellers, and buyers' purchase probabilities are insufficiently responsive to price differences when there are two sellers. Copyright 2007 by the Economics Department Of The University Of Pennsylvania And Osaka University Institute Of Social And Economic Research Association.

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy N. Cason & Charles Noussair, 2007. "A Market With Frictions In The Matching Process: An Experimental Study," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 48(2), pages 665-691, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:ier:iecrev:v:48:y:2007:i:2:p:665-691
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    Cited by:

    1. Philipp Otto & Friedel Bolle, 2011. "Matching markets with price bargaining," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 14(3), pages 322-348, September.
    2. Nejat Anbarci & Nick Feltovich, 2013. "Directed Search, Coordination Failure, And Seller Profits: An Experimental Comparison Of Posted Pricing With Single And Multiple Prices," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 54(3), pages 873-884, August.
    3. Gabriele Camera & Jaehong Kim, 2016. "Dynamic directed search," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 62(1), pages 131-154, June.
    4. Andrew Kloosterman, 2016. "Directed search with heterogeneous firms: an experimental study," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 19(1), pages 51-66, March.
    5. Philipp Kircher, 2007. "Efficiency of Directed Search," 2007 Meeting Papers 93, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    6. Robert Shimer, 2005. "The Assignment of Workers to Jobs in an Economy with Coordination Frictions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(5), pages 996-1025, October.
    7. Jeong, Dawoon & Sesmero, Juan Pablo & Reeling, Carson, 2023. "Experimental Evidence of Efficiency and Equity of Posted Price Markets for Irrigation Water," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335840, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Helland, Leif & Moen, Espen R. & Preugschat, Edgar, 2017. "Information and coordination frictions in experimental posted offer markets," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 53-74.
    9. Kircher, Philipp & Wright, Randall & Julien, Benoit & Guerrieri, Veronica, 2017. "Directed Search: A Guided Tour," CEPR Discussion Papers 12315, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Chen, Yan & Fehr, Ernst & Fischbacher, Urs & Morgan, Peter, 2015. "Decentralized matching and social segregation," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 17-43.
    11. Kloosterman, Andrew & Paul, Stephen, 2018. "Ultimatum game bargaining in a partially directed search market," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 60-74.
    12. David F. Perkis & Timothy N. Cason & Wallace E. Tyner, 2016. "An Experimental Investigation of Hard and Soft Price Ceilings in Emissions Permit Markets," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 63(4), pages 703-718, April.
    13. Katharina Momsen, 2021. "The effects of price information and communication in markets with capacity constraints: An experiment," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 871-892, November.
    14. Yan, Huibin & Friedman, Daniel & Munro, David, 2016. "An experiment on a core controversy," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 132-144.
    15. Anbarci, Nejat & Dutu, Richard & Feltovich, Nick, 2015. "Inflation tax in the lab: a theoretical and experimental study of competitive search equilibrium with inflation," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 17-33.
    16. Nejat Anbarci & Nick Feltovich, 2018. "Pricing in Competitive Search Markets: The Roles of Price Information and Fairness Perceptions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(3), pages 1101-1120, March.

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