IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/iaae15/212156.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Asymmetric Cost Pass-Through? Empirical Evidence on the Role of Market Power, Search and Menu Costs

Author

Listed:
  • Loy, Jens-Peter
  • Glauben, Thomas
  • Weiss, Christoph

Abstract

We estimate cost pass-through rates based on data for store-level retail prices and wholesale costs. The data allows us to identify heterogeneity in cost pass-through across retailers and relate it to underlying explanatory factors such as retailer market power, measures of consumer search and menu costs. Results from a threshold-errorcorrection- model clearly provide empirical support for the ‘rockets and feathers’ phenomenon. In contrast to much of the literature which explains the ‘rockets and feathers’ phenomenon as a result of retailers’ market power, we find contrary find that the degree of asymmetry between costs and prices is negatively related to a measure of market power.

Suggested Citation

  • Loy, Jens-Peter & Glauben, Thomas & Weiss, Christoph, 2015. "Asymmetric Cost Pass-Through? Empirical Evidence on the Role of Market Power, Search and Menu Costs," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212156, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:iaae15:212156
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.212156
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/212156/files/Loy-Asymmetric%20Cost%20Pass-Through%20Empirical%20Evidence%20on%20the%20Role-88.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.212156?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
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Julio J. Rotemberg, 2010. "Altruistic Dynamic Pricing with Customer Regret," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 112(4), pages 646-672, December.
    2. Vishal Gaur & Young-Hoon Park, 2007. "Asymmetric Consumer Learning and Inventory Competition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(2), pages 227-240, February.
    3. Arthur Lewbel, 2012. "Using Heteroscedasticity to Identify and Estimate Mismeasured and Endogenous Regressor Models," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 67-80.
    4. Matthew S. Lewis, 2011. "Asymmetric Price Adjustment and Consumer Search: An Examination of the Retail Gasoline Market," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 409-449, June.
    5. Daniel Hosken & David Reiffen, 2001. "Multiproduct retailers and the sale phenomenon," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(1), pages 115-137.
    6. Birgit Strikholm & Timo Teräsvirta, 2006. "A sequential procedure for determining the number of regimes in a threshold autoregressive model," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 9(3), pages 472-491, November.
    7. Connor, John M & Peterson, Everett B, 1992. "Market-Structure Determinants of National Brand-Private Label Price Differences of Manufactured Food Products," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 157-171, June.
    8. Cabral, Luís & Fishman, Arthur, 2012. "Business as usual: A consumer search theory of sticky prices and asymmetric price adjustment," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 371-376.
    9. Levy, Daniel & Bergen, Mark & Dutta, Shantanu & Venable, Robert, 1997. "The Magnitude of Menu Costs: Direct Evidence from Large U.S. Supermarket Chains," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 112(3), pages 791-824.
    10. Giliola Frey & Matteo Manera, 2007. "Econometric Models Of Asymmetric Price Transmission," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 349-415, April.
    11. Stigler, George J., 2011. "Economics of Information," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 5, pages 35-49.
    12. Jean-Paul Chavas & Aashish Mehta, 2004. "Price Dynamics in a Vertical Sector: The Case of Butter," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 86(4), pages 1078-1093.
    13. Dale M. Heien, 1980. "Markup Pricing in a Dynamic Model of the Food Industry," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 62(1), pages 10-18.
    14. White, Halbert, 1980. "A Heteroskedasticity-Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and a Direct Test for Heteroskedasticity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(4), pages 817-838, May.
    15. Ronald W. Ward, 1982. "Asymmetry in Retail, Wholesale, and Shipping Point Pricing for Fresh Vegetables," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 64(2), pages 205-212.
    16. Robert B. Barsky & Mark Bergen & Shantanu Dutta & Daniel Levy, 2003. "What Can the Price Gap between Branded and Private-Label Products Tell Us about Markups?," NBER Chapters, in: Scanner Data and Price Indexes, pages 165-225, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Levy, Daniel & Dutta, Shantanu & Bergen, Mark & Venable, Robert, 1998. "Price Adjustment at Multiproduct Retailers," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 19(2), pages 81-120.
    18. Severin Borenstein & Andrea Shepard, 2002. "Sticky Prices, Inventories, and Market Power in Wholesale Gasoline Markets," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 33(1), pages 116-139, Spring.
    19. Teresa Serra & Barry Goodwin, 2003. "Price transmission and asymmetric adjustment in the Spanish dairy sector," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(18), pages 1889-1899.
    20. Timothy J. Richards & Miguel I. Gómez & Jun Lee, 2014. "Pass-Through and Consumer Search: An Empirical Analysis," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 96(4), pages 1049-1069.
    21. 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.
    22. 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.
    23. Jens-Peter Loy & Thore Holm & Carsten Steinhagen & Thomas Glauben, 2015. "Cost pass-through in differentiated product markets: a disaggregated study for milk and butter," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 42(3), pages 441-471.
    24. Ball, Laurence & Mankiw, N Gregory, 1994. "Asymmetric Price Adjustment and Economic Fluctuations," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(423), pages 247-261, March.
    25. Perdiguero-García, Jordi, 2013. "Symmetric or asymmetric oil prices? A meta-analysis approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 389-397.
    26. Jeffrey R. Brown & Austan Goolsbee, 2002. "Does the Internet Make Markets More Competitive? Evidence from the Life Insurance Industry," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(3), pages 481-507, June.
    27. Henry W. Kinnucan & Olan D. Forker, 1987. "Asymmetry in Farm-Retail Price Transmission for Major Dairy Products," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 69(2), pages 285-292.
    28. Octavio Fernández-Amador & Josef Baumgartner & Jesús Crespo-Cuaresma, 2010. "Milking The Prices: The Role of Asymmetries in the Price Transmission Mechanism for Milk Products in Austria," Working Papers 2010-21, Faculty of Economics and Statistics, Universität Innsbruck.
    29. Sam Peltzman, 2000. "Prices Rise Faster than They Fall," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(3), pages 466-502, June.
    30. George Deltas, 2008. "Retail Gasoline Price Dynamics And Local Market Power," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 613-628, September.
    31. Tang, Zhulei & Smith, Michael D. & Montgomery, Alan, 2010. "The impact of shopbot use on prices and price dispersion: Evidence from online book retailing," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 579-590, November.
    32. Herrmann, Roland & Möser, Anke & Weber, Sascha A., 2009. "Grocery retailing in Germany: Situation, development and pricing strategies," Discussion Papers 41, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Center for international Development and Environmental Research (ZEU).
    33. Jochen Meyer & Stephan von Cramon‐Taubadel, 2004. "Asymmetric Price Transmission: A Survey," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 581-611, November.
    34. Lewis, Jeffrey B. & Linzer, Drew A., 2005. "Estimating Regression Models in Which the Dependent Variable Is Based on Estimates," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(4), pages 345-364.
    35. David A. Matsa, 2011. "Competition and Product Quality in the Supermarket Industry," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(3), pages 1539-1591.
    36. Christopher F Baum & Arthur Lewbel & Mark E Schaffer & Oleksander Talavera, 2012. "Instrumental variables estimation using heteroskedasticity-based instruments," United Kingdom Stata Users' Group Meetings 2012 07, Stata Users Group.
    37. Severin Borenstein & A. Colin Cameron & Richard Gilbert, 1997. "Do Gasoline Prices Respond Asymmetrically to Crude Oil Price Changes?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(1), pages 305-339.
    38. Mariano Tappata, 2009. "Rockets and feathers: Understanding asymmetric pricing," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 40(4), pages 673-687, December.
    39. Feenstra, Robert C. & Shapiro, Matthew D. (ed.), 2002. "Scanner Data and Price Indexes," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226239651, December.
    40. Andrés Musalem & Marcelo Olivares & Eric T. Bradlow & Christian Terwiesch & Daniel Corsten, 2010. "Structural Estimation of the Effect of Out-of-Stocks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(7), pages 1180-1197, July.
    41. Robert Slonim & Ellen Garbarino, 2009. "Similarities and differences between stockpiling and reference effects," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 351-371.
    42. Huanxing Yang & Lixin Ye, 2008. "Search with learning: understanding asymmetric price adjustments," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 39(2), pages 547-564, June.
    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. Maysam Rabbani, 2021. "Non-profit hospital mergers: the effect on healthcare costs and utilization," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 427-455, December.
    2. Levy, Daniel & Snir, Avichai & Gotler, Alex & Chen, Haipeng (Allan), 2020. "Not all price endings are created equal: Price points and asymmetric price rigidity," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 33-49.
    3. Thomas Bittmann & Jens-Peter Loy, 2021. "Price transmission and cost pass-through on the German dairy value chain," Journal of New Economy, Ural State University of Economics, vol. 22(3), pages 84-102, October.
    4. Nilsen Øivind A. & Pettersen Per Marius & Bratlie Joakim, 2018. "Time-Dependency in Producers’ Price Adjustments: Evidence from Micro Panel Data," Review of Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 69(2), pages 147-168, August.
    5. Øivind A. Nilsen & Magne Vange, 2019. "Intermittent Price Changes in Production Plants: Empirical Evidence Using Monthly Data," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 81(1), pages 98-122, February.
    6. Jose Arias & Oleksandr Talavera & Andriy Tsapin, 2020. "Bank Liquidity and Exposure to Industry Shocks," Discussion Papers 20-16, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham.
    7. Kai-Yin Woo & Shu-Kam Lee & Cho-Yiu Joe Ng, 2018. "An Investigation Into The Dynamic Relationship Between Cpi And Ppi: Evidence From The Uk, France And Germany," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(05), pages 1081-1100, July.
    8. Dang, Canh Thien & Owens, Trudy, 2020. "Does transparency come at the cost of charitable services? Evidence from investigating British charities," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 314-343.
    9. Mohd, Rafede & Masih, Mansur, 2018. "Testing the asymmetric and lead-lag relationship between CPI and PPI: an application of the ARDL and NARDL approaches," MPRA Paper 112500, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Yizao Liu & Xuan Chen & Adam N. Rabinowitz, 2019. "The role of retail market power and state regulations in the heterogeneity of farm‐retail price transmission of private label and branded products," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 50(1), pages 91-99, January.
    11. von Cramon-Taubadel, Stephan, 2021. "Vertikale Preisbeziehungen - Beziehungen zwischen Erzeuger- und Verbraucherpreisen," IAMO Discussion Papers 310088, Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO).
    12. Antonioli, Federico & Santeramo, Fabio Gaetano, 2022. "On Policy Interventions and Vertical Price Transmission: The Italian Milk Supply Chain Case," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 47(2), May.
    13. Bittmann, Thomas & Loy, Jens-Peter & Anders, Sven, 2017. "Cost Pass-Through And Product Differentiation," 2017 International Congress, August 28-September 1, 2017, Parma, Italy 261145, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Dagoumas, Athanasios S. & Polemis, Michael L., 2020. "Carbon pass-through in the electricity sector: An econometric analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    15. Daniele Cavicchioli & Luca Cacchiarelli & Alessandro Sorrentino & Roberto Pretolani, 2022. "Should We Cry over the Spilt Milk? Market Power and Structural Change along Dairy Supply Chains in EU Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-18, April.
    16. Wang, Haining & Cheng, Zhiming, 2022. "Kids eat free: School feeding and family spending on education," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 196-212.
    17. Dagoumas, Athanasios & Polemis, Michael, 2018. "Analysing Carbon Pass-Through Rate Mechanism in the Electricity Sector: Evidence from Greece," MPRA Paper 91067, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Giuseppe Lucio Gaeta & Giuseppe Lubrano Lavadera & Francesco Pastore, 2022. "The Effect of Job–Education Vertical Mismatch on Wages Among Recent PhD Graduates: Evidence From an Instrumental Variable Analysis," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 8(1), pages 197-225, March.
    19. Bulutay, Muhammed & Hales, David & Julius, Patrick & Tasch, Weiwei, 2021. "Imperfect tacit collusion and asymmetric price transmission," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 584-599.
    20. Aaron Grau & Heinrich Hockmann, 2018. "Market power in the German dairy value chain," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(1), pages 93-111, December.
    21. Arias, Jose & Talavera, Oleksandr & Tsapin, Andriy, 2022. "Bank liquidity and exposure to industry shocks: Evidence from Ukraine," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    22. repec:zbw:iamodp:310088 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Loy, Jens-Peter & Ceynowa, Christian & Kuhn, Lena, 2020. "Price recall: Brand and store type differences," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).

    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. Jens‐Peter Loy & Dieter Pennerstorfer & Daniela Rroshi & Christoph Weiss & Biliana Yontcheva, 2022. "Consumer Information and Price Transmission: Empirical Evidence," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(3), pages 631-683, September.
    2. Noel, Michael D. & Qiang, Hongjie, 2019. "The role of information in retail gasoline price dispersion," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 173-187.
    3. Jens-Peter Loy & Thore Holm & Carsten Steinhagen & Thomas Glauben, 2015. "Cost pass-through in differentiated product markets: a disaggregated study for milk and butter," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 42(3), pages 441-471.
    4. Bittmann, Thomas & Holzer, Patrick & Loy, Jens-Peter, 2016. "Seasonal Cost Pass-Through In The German Milk Market," 56th Annual Conference, Bonn, Germany, September 28-30, 2016 244779, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    5. Joshua Sherman & Avi Weiss, 2015. "Price Response, Asymmetric Information and Competition," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(589), pages 2077-2115, December.
    6. Rahman, Mohammad Chhiddikur, 2020. "Welfare Impact of Asymmetric Price Transmission on Bangladesh Rice Consumers," EconStor Theses, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 242248, July.
    7. Sylvain Benoît & Yannick Lucotte & Sébastien Ringuedé, 2019. "Competition and price stickiness: Evidence from the French retail gasoline market," Working Papers hal-02292332, HAL.
    8. Rahman, Mohammad Chhiddikur, 2018. "Welfare Impact of Asymmetric Price Transmission on Bangladesh Rice Consumers," EconStor Theses, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 251114, July.
    9. Antoniou, Fabio & Fiocco, Raffaele & Guo, Dongyu, 2017. "Asymmetric price adjustments: A supply side approach," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 335-360.
    10. 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.
    11. Obradovits, Martin, 2014. "Asymmetric Pricing Caused by Collusion," MPRA Paper 58889, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Sven Heim, 2021. "Asymmetric cost pass-through and consumer search: empirical evidence from online platforms," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 227-260, June.
    13. Judith Hillen, 2021. "Vertical price transmission in Swiss dairy and cheese value chains," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, December.
    14. Deltas, George & Polemis, Michael, 2020. "Estimating retail gasoline price dynamics: The effects of sample characteristics and research design," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    15. Diego Escobari, 2013. "Asymmetric Price Adjustments in Airlines," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(2), pages 74-85, March.
    16. Mulder, M. & Willems, Bert, 2016. "Competition in Retail Electricity Markets : An Assessment of Ten Years Dutch Experience," Discussion Paper 2016-011, Tilburg University, Tilburg Law and Economic Center.
    17. Mohammad J Alam & Raghbendra Jha, 2016. "Asymmetric threshold vertical price transmission in wheat and flour markets in Dhaka (Bangladesh): seemingly unrelated regression analysis," ASARC Working Papers 2016-03, The Australian National University, Australia South Asia Research Centre.
    18. Elena Claire Ricci & Massimo Peri & Lucia Baldi, 2019. "The Effects of Agricultural Price Instability on Vertical Price Transmission: A Study of the Wheat Chain in Italy," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-14, February.
    19. Yaya KEHO & Aïssata SOBIA CAMARA, 2012. "Vertical Price Transmission in Local Rice Markets in Côte d’Ivoire: Are Consumers Really Right?," Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 2(4), pages 552-564.
    20. Ricardo Batista Politi & Enlinson Mattos, 2011. "Ad-valorem tax incidence and after-tax price adjustments: evidence from Brazilian basic basket food," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 44(4), pages 1438-1470, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agricultural and Food Policy; Consumer/Household Economics;

    JEL classification:

    • C32 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes; State Space Models
    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:ags:iaae15:212156. 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: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iaaeeea.html .

    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.