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Competition and Price Discrimination in the Parking Garage Industry

Author

Listed:
  • Haizhen Lin

    (Department of Business Economics and Public Policy, Indiana University Kelley School of Business)

  • Yijia Wang

    (NERA Economic Consulting)

Abstract

We study the relationship between competition and price discrimination through an empirical examination of hourly price schedules in the parking garage industry. We find that the degree of price schedule curvature decreases with competition, implying a greater proportionate drop in low-end prices than in high-end prices when competition intensifies. We provide an explanation for our findings using differences in search behaviors between short- and long-term customers.

Suggested Citation

  • Haizhen Lin & Yijia Wang, 2012. "Competition and Price Discrimination in the Parking Garage Industry," Working Papers 2012-07, Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Department of Business Economics and Public Policy.
    • Handle: RePEc:iuk:wpaper:2012-07
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    File URL: http://kelley.iu.edu/riharbau/RePEc/iuk/wpaper/bepp2012-07-lin-wang.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Inci, Eren & Lindsey, Robin, 2015. "Garage and curbside parking competition with search congestion," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 49-59.
    2. De Nijs, Romain, 2012. "The price discrimination effect of a large merger of parking garages," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 117(3), pages 928-931.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    competition; price curvature; price discrimination; consumer search; parking garage industry;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L0 - Industrial Organization - - General
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L12 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Monopoly; Monopolization Strategies

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