IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ecb/ecbwps/20141744.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Retail market structure and consumer prices in the euro area

Author

Listed:
  • Ciapanna, Emanuela
  • Rondinelli, Concetta

Abstract

We investigate the empirical relationship between product market competition and prices in the retail grocery sector in the euro area. The study uses micro-data from ACNielsen on chain stores' census characteristics and price levels for a broad variety of products. We construct Herfindahl-Hirschman indices of concentration at different levels of market aggregation (buying group and parent company) to investigate their effects on prices. The analysis confirms the inverse relation between downstream market competition among retailers and price levels for most of the reference products. Though less conclusive in terms of statistical significance, the proposed estimates also point to a welfare enhancing role of buying groups. Our results indicate that buying groups provide a balancing mechanism between retailers' and producers' bargaining power, in support of the countervailing power hypothesis. JEL Classification: L1, L4, L8, E31

Suggested Citation

  • Ciapanna, Emanuela & Rondinelli, Concetta, 2014. "Retail market structure and consumer prices in the euro area," Working Paper Series 1744, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20141744
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.ecb.europa.eu//pub/pdf/scpwps/ecbwp1744.en.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. V. Baugnet & D. Cornille & E. Dhyne & B. Robert, 2009. "Regulation and competition in the distribution sector in Belgium," Economic Review, National Bank of Belgium, issue iii, pages 33-57, September.
    2. Dobson, Paul W & Waterson, Michael, 1997. "Countervailing Power and Consumer Prices," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 107(441), pages 418-430, March.
    3. repec:bla:econom:v:49:y:1982:i:195:p:277-87 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Eliana Viviano & Luciana Aimone Gigio & Emanuela Ciapanna & Daniele Coin & Fabrizio Colonna & Federica Lagna & Raffaele Santioni, 2012. "The retail trade sector and the food industry in Italy," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 119, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    5. Chen, Zhiqi, 2003. "Dominant Retailers and the Countervailing-Power Hypothesis," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 34(4), pages 612-625, Winter.
    6. Barros, Pedro Pita & Brito, Duarte & de Lucena, Diogo, 2006. "Mergers in the food retailing sector: An empirical investigation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 447-468, February.
    7. Sofia Berto Villas‐Boas, 2009. "An empirical investigation of the welfare effects of banning wholesale price discrimination," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 40(1), pages 20-46, March.
    8. Emanuela Ciapanna & Concetta Rondinelli, 2011. "Retail sector concentration and price dynamics in the euro area: a regional analysis," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 107, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    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. Peter Mayerhofer & Peter Huber & Dieter Pennerstorfer, 2017. "Handel und Einzelhandel im Wiener Beschäftigungssystem. Arbeitsmarktrelevanz, Arbeitsplatzcharakteristika, absehbare Herausforderungen," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 61951, March.
    2. Wifo, 2016. "WIFO-Monatsberichte, Heft 3/2016," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 89(3), March.
    3. Patrice Bougette & Oliver Budzinski & Frédéric Marty, 2019. "Exploitative Abuse and Abuse of Economic Dependence: What Can We Learn From an Industrial Organization Approach?," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 129(2), pages 261-286.
    4. Michael Böheim & Dieter Pennerstorfer & Franz Sinabell, 2016. "Strukturanpassung im österreichischen Lebensmittelhandel. Auswirkung auf die Versorgung und wettbewerbsökonomische Implikationen," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 89(3), pages 171-183, March.
    5. Yerzhan Raushanov & Turekhan B. Akhmetov, 2023. "Industrial policy impact on competitiveness of companies and sustainable development in post-communist Kazakhstan," RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA', FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 0(1), pages 167-186.
    6. Lloyd, Tim & McCorriston, Steve & Zvogu, Evious, 2015. "Common Shocks, Uncommon Effects: Food Price Inflation across the EU," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212055, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Tim Lloyd, 2017. "Forty Years of Price Transmission Research in the Food Industry: Insights, Challenges and Prospects," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(1), pages 3-21, February.
    8. Lucia Rizzica & Giacomo Roma & Gabriele Rovigatti, 2020. "The effects of shop opening hours deregulation: evidence from Italy," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1281, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    9. Romero, Jaime & Cruz-Roche, Ignacio & Charron, Jean-Philippe, 2020. "The myth of price convergence under economic integration: A proposed explanation for the difference in food prices across European countries," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 267-276.

    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. Emanuela Ciapanna & Concetta Rondinelli, 2011. "Retail sector concentration and price dynamics in the euro area: a regional analysis," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 107, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    2. Castellari Elena & Bonanno Alessandro & Sckokai Paolo, 2019. "Food Retail Liberalization, Food Retail Structure and Food Prices: The Italian Case," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 17(2), pages 1-11, November.
    3. Romero, Jaime & Cruz-Roche, Ignacio & Charron, Jean-Philippe, 2020. "The myth of price convergence under economic integration: A proposed explanation for the difference in food prices across European countries," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 267-276.
    4. Eliana Viviano & Luciana Aimone Gigio & Emanuela Ciapanna & Daniele Coin & Fabrizio Colonna & Federica Lagna & Raffaele Santioni, 2012. "The retail trade sector and the food industry in Italy," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 119, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    5. Can Erutku, 2005. "Buying power and strategic interactions," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(4), pages 1160-1172, November.
    6. Johan Swinnen & Alessandro Olper & Senne Vandevelde, 2021. "From unfair prices to unfair trading practices: Political economy, value chains and 21st century agri‐food policy," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(5), pages 771-788, September.
    7. Allain, Marie-Laure & Avignon, Rémi & Chambolle, Claire, 2020. "Purchasing alliances and product variety," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    8. David Mills, 2013. "Countervailing Power and Chain Stores," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 42(3), pages 281-295, May.
    9. Battigalli, Pierpaolo & Fumagalli, Chiara & Polo, Michele, 2007. "Buyer power and quality improvements," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 45-61, June.
    10. Hans-Theo Normann & Bradley J. Ruffle & Christopher M. Snyder, 2007. "Do buyer-size discounts depend on the curvature of the surplus function? Experimental tests of bargaining models," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 38(3), pages 747-767, September.
    11. Symeonidis, George, 2010. "Downstream merger and welfare in a bilateral oligopoly," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 230-243, May.
    12. Johansen, Bjørn Olav, 2012. "The Buyer Power Of Multiproduct Retailers: Competition With One-Stop Shopping," Working Papers in Economics 03/12, University of Bergen, Department of Economics.
    13. Xinxin Li & Yuxin Chen, 2012. "Corporate IT Standardization: Product Compatibility, Exclusive Purchase Commitment, and Competition Effects," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 23(4), pages 1158-1174, December.
    14. Yonezawa, Koichi & Gomez, Miguel I. & Richards, Timothy J., 2018. "The Robinson-Patman Act and Vertical Relationships in Food Retailing," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274204, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    15. Armel Jacques, 2019. "Les enjeux du rachat de Vindémia : quelques éléments de théorie économique," Post-Print hal-03546561, HAL.
    16. Sara Fisher Ellison & Christopher M. Snyder, 2010. "Countervailing Power In Wholesale Pharmaceuticals," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 32-53, March.
    17. Bronnenberg, Bart, 2018. "Innovation and Distribution: A General Equilibrium Model of Manufacturing and Retailing," CEPR Discussion Papers 13058, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    18. Inderst, Roman & Wey, Christian, 2007. "Buyer power and supplier incentives," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 647-667, April.
    19. Jeon, Doh-Shin & Menicucci, Domenico, 2019. "On the unprofitability of buyer groups when sellers compete," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 265-288.
    20. Raff, Horst & Schmitt, Nicolas, 2009. "Buyer power in international markets," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(2), pages 222-229, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    buying group; market concentration; parent company; price levels; regional Herfindahl-Hirschman indices;
    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
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation

    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:ecb:ecbwps:20141744. 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: Official Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/emieude.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.