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The pricing of gasoline grades and the third law of demand

Author

Listed:
  • R. Morris Coats

    (Nicholls State University)

  • Gary M. Pecquet

    (Shenandoah University)

  • Leon Taylor

    (Tulane University)

Abstract

Alchian and Allen’s “third law of demand” states that as a fixed cost increases by the same amount for low- and high-quality goods, the ratio of the prices of high- to low-quality goods will fall and the quantity demanded of high quality goods relative to low quality goods will increase. We examine the more general hypothesis by estimating the ratio of the quantities of sales of premium to regular grade gasoline using the ratio of premium to regular prices, controlling for supply and demand factors. We find moderate evidence for the more general hypothesis.

Suggested Citation

  • R. Morris Coats & Gary M. Pecquet & Leon Taylor, 2005. "The pricing of gasoline grades and the third law of demand," Microeconomics 0506006, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpmi:0506006
    Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 17
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    File URL: https://econwpa.ub.uni-muenchen.de/econ-wp/mic/papers/0506/0506006.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gould, John P & Segall, Joel, 1969. "The Substitution Effects of Transportation Costs," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 77(1), pages 130-137, Jan./Feb..
    2. Cowen, Tyler & Tabarrok, Alexander, 1995. "Good Grapes and Bad Lobsters: Applying the Alchian and Allen Theorem," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 33(2), pages 253-256, April.
    3. 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.
    4. James, Jennifer S. & Alston, Julian M., 2002. "Taxes and quality: A market-level analysis," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 46(3), pages 1-29.
    5. Barzel, Yoram, 1976. "An Alternative Approach to the Analysis of Taxation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 84(6), pages 1177-1197, December.
    6. Borcherding, Thomas E & Silberberg, Eugene, 1978. "Shipping the Good Apples Out: The Alchian and Allen Theorem Reconsidered," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(1), pages 131-138, February.
    7. Laura Razzolini & William F. Shughart & Robert D. Tollison, 2003. "On the Third Law of Demand," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(2), pages 292-298, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Minagawa, Junichi, 2012. "On Giffen-like goods," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 282-285.
    2. Markus Dertwinkel-Kalt & Katrin Köhler & Mirjam R. J. Lange & Tobias Wenzel, 2017. "Demand Shifts Due to Salience Effects: Experimental Evidence," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 626-653.
    3. Justine Hastings & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2012. "Mental Accounting and Consumer Choice: Evidence from Commodity Price Shocks," NBER Working Papers 18248, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Noel, Michael D. & Qiang, Hongjie, 2019. "The role of information in retail gasoline price dispersion," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 173-187.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Third Law of Demand; Price Ratios; Gasoline Grades;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • D2 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations
    • D3 - Microeconomics - - Distribution
    • D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design

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