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Why are gasoline prices sticky? A test of alternative models of price adjustment

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  • Christopher Douglas

    (Department of Economics, University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, MI, USA)

  • Ana María Herrera

    (Department of Economics, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA)

Abstract

Macroeconomic models of business cycles rely on the assumption that firms adjust prices infrequently to generate the short-run non-neutrality of money documented by the monetary transmission literature. They posit different mechanisms to generate price stickiness, with correspondingly different implications for inflation dynamics. Using an autoregressive conditional binomial model, we test which mechanism is most consistent with the pattern of price adjustment found in daily wholesale gasoline price data. Our results lead us to reject menu costs and information-processing delays but suggest that strategic considerations related to the idea of 'fair pricing' play an important role in accounting for price stickiness. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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  • Christopher Douglas & Ana María Herrera, 2010. "Why are gasoline prices sticky? A test of alternative models of price adjustment," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(6), pages 903-928.
  • Handle: RePEc:jae:japmet:v:25:y:2010:i:6:p:903-928
    DOI: 10.1002/jae.1115
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    6. Chen, Chaoyi & Polemis, Michael & Stengos, Thanasis, 2018. "On the Examination of Competition in the Petroleum Industry: A Pooled Panel Threshold Analysis," MPRA Paper 89671, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Erwan Gautier & Ronan Le Saout, 2015. "The Dynamics of Gasoline Prices: Evidence from Daily French Micro Data," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(6), pages 1063-1089, September.
    8. Deltas, George & Polemis, Michael, 2020. "Estimating retail gasoline price dynamics: The effects of sample characteristics and research design," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    9. Erwan Gautier & Magali Marx & Paul Vertier, 2023. "How Do Gasoline Prices Respond to a Cost Shock?," Journal of Political Economy Macroeconomics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(4), pages 707-741.
    10. 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.
    11. Lutz Kilian, 2008. "The Economic Effects of Energy Price Shocks," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(4), pages 871-909, December.
    12. Szomolányi, Karol & Lukáčik, Martin & Lukáčiková, Adriana, 2019. "Analysis of Asymmetry in Slovak Gasoline and Diesel Retail Market," Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference (2019), Rovinj, Croatia, in: Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference, Rovinj, Croatia, 12-14 September 2019, pages 359-366, IRENET - Society for Advancing Innovation and Research in Economy, Zagreb.
    13. Szomolányi, Karol & Lukáčik, Martin & Lukáčiková, Adriana, 2022. "Asymmetric Reactions of Retail Gasoline Prices on the Changes in Crude Oil Prices in Chosen US Cities," Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference (2022), Hybrid Conference, Opatija, Croatia, in: Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference, Hybrid Conference, Opatija, Croatia, 17-18 June 2022, pages 9-15, IRENET - Society for Advancing Innovation and Research in Economy, Zagreb.
    14. Karsten Schweikert, 2019. "Asymmetric price transmission in the US and German fuel markets: a quantile autoregression approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1071-1095, March.
    15. Abbas Valadkhani & Martin O'Brien & Amir Arjomandi, 2013. "Examining the nature of the relationship between Tapis crude oil and Singapore petrol prices," International Journal of Global Energy Issues, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 36(1), pages 27-41.
    16. Brown, David P. & Eckert, Andrew, 2018. "The effect of default rates on retail competition and pricing decisions of competitive retailers: The case of Alberta," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 298-311.
    17. Moutinho, Victor & Bento, João Paulo Cerdeira & Hajko, Vladimír, 2017. "Price relationships between crude oil and transport fuels in the European Union before and after the 2008 financial crisis," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 76-83.
    18. Venditti, Fabrizio, 2013. "From oil to consumer energy prices: How much asymmetry along the way?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 468-473.
    19. Douglas, Christopher C. & Herrera, Ana María, 2014. "Dynamic pricing and asymmetries in retail gasoline markets: What can they tell us about price stickiness?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 247-252.
    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. Hachmi Ben Ameur & Zied Ftiti & Fredj Jawadi & Wael Louhichi, 2022. "Measuring extreme risk dependence between the oil and gas markets," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 313(2), pages 755-772, June.
    22. James Ming Chen & Mobeen Ur Rehman, 2021. "A Pattern New in Every Moment: The Temporal Clustering of Markets for Crude Oil, Refined Fuels, and Other Commodities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-58, September.
    23. Suvankulov, Farrukh & Lau, Marco Chi Keung & Ogucu, Fatma, 2012. "Price regulation and relative price convergence: Evidence from the retail gasoline market in Canada," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 325-334.
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