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Price Dispersion and Accessibility: A Case study of Fast Food

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  • Stewart, Hayden
  • Davis, David E.

Abstract

This study examines spatial variation in the price and accessibility of fast food across a major urban area. We use novel data on the price of a representative fast food meal and the location of fast food restaurants belonging to one of three major chains in the District of Columbia and its surrounding suburbs. These data are used to test a structural model of spatial competition. The results of this study are easily interpreted and compared with a past analysis. We find that spatial differences in costs and demand conditions drive variation in the number of firms operating in a market, which in turn affects prices.

Suggested Citation

  • Stewart, Hayden & Davis, David E., 2005. "Price Dispersion and Accessibility: A Case study of Fast Food," MPRA Paper 7617, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:7617
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    14. Stewart, Hayden & Blisard, Noel & Bhuyan, Sanjib & Nayga, Rodolfo M., Jr., 2004. "The Demand For Food Away From Home: Full-Service Or Fast Food?," Agricultural Economic Reports 33953, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
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    Cited by:

    1. Philip G. Gayle & Zijun Luo, 2015. "Choosing between Order-of-Entry Assumptions in Empirical Entry Models: Evidence from Competition between Burger King and McDonald's Restaurant Outlets," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(1), pages 129-151, March.
    2. Brekke, Kurt R. & Garcia Pires, Armando J. & Schindler, Dirk & Schjelderup, Guttorm, 2017. "Capital taxation and imperfect competition: ACE vs. CBIT," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 1-15.
    3. Gillespie, Jeffrey & Hatzenbuehler, Patrick & O'Neil, Carol & Lin, Bo & Niu, Huizhen, 2015. "The Impact of Neighborhood Income on the Cost of Energy-Dense and Nutrient-Dense Foods in Supermarkets," Journal of Food Distribution Research, Food Distribution Research Society, vol. 46(3), pages 1-23, November.
    4. Leschewski, Andrea Marie & Weatherspoon, Dave D., 2014. "Fast Food Restaurant Pricing Strategies in Michigan Food Deserts," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 17(A), pages 1-24, March.
    5. Stewart, Hayden & Dong, Diansheng, 2011. "Variation in retail costs for fresh vegetables and salty snacks across communities in the United States," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 128-135, April.
    6. Diem Nguyen & Vicki McCracken & Ken Casavant & Eric Jessup, 2011. "Geographic location, ownership and profitability of Washington log trucking companies," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(2), pages 115-125, June.
    7. Davis, David E., 2009. "Price and promotion effects of supermarket mergers," SDSU Working Papers in Progress 12009, South Dakota State University, Department of Economics, revised Jun 2010.
    8. Stewart, Hayden & Blisard, Noel, 2006. "Household versus Community Effects: Who Really Pays More for Food?," 2006 Annual meeting, July 23-26, Long Beach, CA 21053, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    9. Juan Jiménez & Jordi Perdiguero, 2011. "Does Accessibility Affect Retail Prices and Competition? An Empirical Application," Networks and Spatial Economics, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 677-699, December.
    10. Hayden Stewart & Noel Blisard, 2008. "Who Pays More for Food?," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 150-168, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    food prices; food accessibility; spatial competition; price dispersion; fast food;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection

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