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Do Retail Petrol Prices Rise More Rapidly Than They Fall in Australia’s Capital Cities?

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Abstract

This paper examines the long-run and short-run determinants of unleaded petrol prices in Australia’s capital cities using monthly data to test whether prices respond asymmetrically to external shocks. In the long-run petrol prices are mainly determined by the Tapis crude oil and Singapore petrol prices. There is some evidence of asymmetric price adjustments in the short-run since petrol price increases have been mostly passed on to the consumer faster than price decreases in four capital cities. One can thus argue that there are a significant degree of market inefficiency and/or collusion, requiring closer government price monitoring and scrutiny.

Suggested Citation

  • Valadkhani, Abbas, 2009. "Do Retail Petrol Prices Rise More Rapidly Than They Fall in Australia’s Capital Cities?," Economics Working Papers wp09-08, School of Economics, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
  • Handle: RePEc:uow:depec1:wp09-08
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    File URL: http://www.uow.edu.au/content/groups/public/@web/@commerce/@econ/documents/doc/uow065349.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Polemis, Michael L. & Fotis, Panagiotis N., 2014. "The taxation effect on gasoline price asymmetry nexus: Evidence from both sides of the Atlantic," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 225-233.
    2. Polemis, Michail & Fotis, Panagiotis, 2011. "The gasoline Industry in European Union and the USA," MPRA Paper 35097, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Michael L. Polemis & Mike G. Tsionas, 2017. "Asymmetric Price Adjustment in the US Gasoline Industry: Evidence from Bayesian Threshold Dynamic Panel Data Models," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 91-128, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Petrol prices; Asymmetric effects; Australia.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms

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