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Price Dispersion and Demand Uncertainty: Evidence from US Scanner Data

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  • Benjamin Eden

    (Vanderbilt University)

Abstract

I use the Prescott (1975) hotels model to explain variations in price dispersion across goods sold by supermarkets in Chicago. I extend the theory to accounts for the monopoly power of chains and for non-shoppers. The main empirical finding is that the effect of demand uncertainty on price dispersion is highly significant and quantitatively important: More than 50% of the cross sectional standard deviation of log prices is due to demand uncertainty. I also find that price dispersion measures are negatively correlated with the average price but are not negatively correlated with the revenues from selling the good (across stores and weeks) and with the number of stores that sell the good.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin Eden, 2015. "Price Dispersion and Demand Uncertainty: Evidence from US Scanner Data," 2015 Meeting Papers 44, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:sed015:44
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    2. Günter J. Hitsch & Ali Hortaçsu & Xiliang Lin, 2021. "Prices and promotions in U.S. retail markets," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 289-368, December.
    3. Meng-Ying Wang & Li-Chen Chou, 2024. "Evaluating information asymmetry effects on hotel pricing: a comparative analysis before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Taiwan’s market," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Ray, Sourav & Snir, Avichai & Levy, Daniel, 2023. "Retail Pricing Format and Rigidity of Regular Prices," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 1-1.
    5. de Meza, David & Reito, Francesco, 2021. "Macro shocks cause equilibrium price dispersion," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    6. Kaldasch, Joachim, 2015. "Dynamic Model of the Price Dispersion of Homogeneous Goods," MPRA Paper 64723, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Howell, Charles & Grifell-Tatjé, Emili, 2022. "Market heterogeneity and the relationship between competition and price dispersion: Evidence from the U.S. airline market," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 218-230.
    8. Doron Sayag & Avichai Snir & Daniel Levy, 2024. "Small Price Changes, Sales Volume, and Menu Cost," Papers 2403.07166, arXiv.org.
    9. Benjamin Eden, 2014. "Demand uncertainty and efficiency," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 14-00011, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    10. Syed Hasan & Nazmun Ratna & Shamim Shakur, 2019. "Exchange rate, remittances and expenditure of foreign-bornhouseholds: evidence from Australia," Discussion Papers 1901, School of Economics and Finance, Massey University, New Zealand.
    11. Gaetano Gaballo, 2018. "Price Dispersion, Private Uncertainty, and Endogenous Nominal Rigidities," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 85(2), pages 1070-1110.
    12. Rachel Griffith & Martin O'Connell & Kate Smith, 2016. "Shopping Around: How Households Adjusted Food Spending Over the Great Recession," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 83(330), pages 247-280, April.
    13. Greg Kaplan & Guido Menzio, 2015. "The Morphology Of Price Dispersion," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 56(4), pages 1165-1206, November.
    14. Hasan, Syed & Shakur, Shamim & Breunig, Robert, 2021. "Exchange rates and expenditure of households with foreign-born members: Evidence from Australia," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 977-997.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design
    • E3 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles

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