Asymmetric farm–retail price transmission and market power: a new test

A finite mixture model is used to estimate farm–retail price transmission in the US fresh strawberry market. Results suggest two distinct pricing regimes associated with off- and peak-harvesting seasons. The market power parameter is significant in the peak-harvest regime, but not in the off-peak regime. Moreover, price changes are transmitted completely throughout the marketing channel in the off-peak regime when the market power parameter is zero, but not in the peak-harvest regime when the market power parameter is positive. This suggests that produce buyers are more apt to exercise market power when farm supplies are abundant than when they are scarce, and that the exercise of such power causes the farm–retail price linkage to become asymmetric.     

纵向关联市场间的价格传递

本文运用均衡移动模型研究农业生产者与食品零售商之间的纵向价格传递关系。模型建立在如下假设之上:即农产品(食品)营销企业在零售环节拥有寡占卖方力量、在农产品收购环节拥有寡占买方力量、营销企业所需要的农产品投入与其他营销投入之间存在一定替代关系并拥有规模报酬可变的技术。结果表明,市场力量和规模报酬对价格传递的影响十分复杂,一方面取决于农产品供给函数和食品需求函数的具体形式,另一方面还取决于外生冲击作用下农产品收购环节与食品零售环节市场力量变化的相对幅度。     

Dynamic probability of informed trading and price movements: evidence from the CSI300 index futures market

This article first uses dynamic probability of informed trading (DPIN) for measuring the probability of informed trading in the CSI300 index futures market and proves its validity for predicting future price movements. Instead of using the original Lee–Ready algorithm, this study uses bulk volume classification (BVC) for classifying volume. BVC could effectively improve the predictive power of DPIN for future price movements. The relationship between DPIN and returns indicates that informed buying raises the futures price while informed selling moves the futures price downward. DPIN could effectively capture price information in the index future markets in China.     

Inverse probability weighting to control for censoring in a post hoc analysis of quality-adjusted survival data from a clinical trial of temsirolimus for renal cell carcinoma

Abstract

Objectives: The Belgian third-party payer wishes to set reimbursement tariffs at a level that reflects the costs of orthotic braces. This article aims to calculate production and distribution costs of a prefabricated hard neck and knee brace and to explore whether Belgian tariffs and actual retail prices correspond with estimated costs of these two braces.

Methods: The cost model considered manufacturing costs, general overheads, research and development costs, warehousing costs, profit and distribution margins. Data were gathered from manufacturers, a production site visit, desk research, a decomposition of finished products and stakeholder interviews. The price year was 2007.

Results: The cost model estimated a retail price of €55–€150 for the neck brace, depending on assumptions. The estimated retail price for the neck brace was lower than the reimbursement tariff of €194 and the actual retail price of €241. The estimated retail price of €331–€694 for the knee brace was lower than the actual retail price of €948.

Conclusions: Actual retail prices and reimbursement tariffs for a neck brace and a knee brace exceeded prices based on estimated costs. Therefore, there appears to be scope for reducing tariffs.     

消费者跨渠道购买行为研究评述与展望

消费者跨渠道购买行为是指多渠道零售环境下,消费者在购买决策过程的不同阶段运用不同渠道的行为。文章基于文献研究法,从定义、影响因素和企业管理策略三个方面对消费者跨渠道购买行为的国内外相关研究进行了梳理和评述,阐述了消费者跨渠道购买行为的定义,总结了消费者跨渠道购买行为的影响因素,归纳了企业对消费者跨渠道购买行为的管理策略并进行了评述,分析了未来研究方向,得出消费者跨渠道购买行为可以细分为消费者跨渠道搭便车行为和消费者跨渠道保留行为,研究结果为多渠道零售企业进行渠道设计和多渠道顾客管理提供了决策参考。     

The determinants of retail petrol prices in Greece

The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between retail prices of petrol, international oil prices and tax rates in Greece. We examine not only the hypothesis that retail prices act asymmetrically to crude oil price changes and the pass-through rates of tax increases, but also use the cross-sectional dimension of the data to explore whether the existence or otherwise of market power affects retail prices. Our results provide little evidence for asymmetric behaviour. However, the degree to which prices overreact to tax changes and the significance of market power across the different regions suggests that the market for petrol/diesel is not very competitive.     

电力产业化解两难困境的经济学研究

从供需均衡角度分析了长期困扰中国电力产业的两难困境(电力短缺和电价过高),而产生两难困境的根源在于垂直一体化垄断;尽管电力体制改革在一定程度上打破了这种垄断,但是电网公司的输配售一体化垄断仍然成为化解两难困境的梗阻;通过网售分开,在电力产业构建充分竞争的电力市场,有效降低电力的生产和零售成本,成本的降低推动供给曲线向右下方平移,在其他条件不变的前提下实现既降低电价又增加电量的目的,从而有效化解两难困境。     

参考价格影响下的两阶段回报型众筹定价策略研究

在众筹发起过程中,策略型消费者将对比众筹价格与零售价格,选择最优购买时机。基于此背景,构建了参考价格效应影响下的两阶段众筹定价模型,设计了众筹发起人的两阶段动态定价策略。发起人根据消费者的耐心程度和参考价格效应强度,选择是否公布零售价格,以及溢价或降价销售。利用理性预期均衡理论和逆向归纳法,得到了发起人与消费者博弈的均衡价格和最优发起策略。结论表明,发起人的策略选择并非单一的,同时受到消费者耐心程度和参考价格效应强度的影响。为众筹发起人的两阶段价格决策提供了理论参考和管理学建议。     

Structural breaks,cointegration and the farm-retail price spread for lamb

This paper examines the farm—retail price spread for lamb from monthly UK data for 1979–1993. Using cointegration, it examines seasonal patterns in producer and retail prices and seeks to identify a long-run relationship between them. Results show that a long-run relationship exists, and that the direction of Granger-causality is from retail to producer prices. Lamb prices are therefore set in the retail market. Results also show that there is a structural break in the relationship in January 1990 when the price increases; this coincides exactly with a change in policy.     

Does asymmetry in price transmission exist in the rice market in Sri Lanka?

This study analyses asymmetry in price transmission between wholesale and retail rice markets in Sri Lanka, using the threshold autoregressive model. We found that the wholesale and the retail rice markets in Sri Lanka are integrated, with price changes moving from the wholesale to the retail market. However, the price transmission process is asymmetric. In particular, price increases at the wholesale market transmit immediately to the retail market while price decreases transmit more slowly. Parameter stability test and follow-up analysis indicated that the price transmission process is asymmetric only during periods of price surges, suggesting that the rice market is not efficient during these periods.     

Price transmission and local market power: empirical evidence from the Austrian gasoline market

We analyse the impact of local market power on price margins and different dimensions of price adjustment dynamics (speed and asymmetry of price transmission) using data for a large number of individual gasoline stations in Austria. Specific attention is paid to threshold effects in price adjustment. Our results clearly suggest that the speed of price transmission between the Brent crude oil index and retail diesel prices is higher in a more competitive environment. While evidence on the relationship between local market power and asymmetries in the speed of price adjustment is mixed, our findings regarding asymmetries in price thresholds are clear: in regions where competition from neighbouring rivals is weak and/or consumers’ price elasticity of demand is low (stations located on the highway), positive thresholds significantly exceed negative ones, which corresponds to the ‘rockets and feathers phenomenon’. As expected, we observe that prices are lower in more competitive local markets.     

Helping "light green" consumers walk the talk: Results of a behavioural intervention survey in the Swiss electricity market

While many consumer surveys show very positive attitudes towards renewable energy, the share of consumers actually purchasing green electricity is still in the single-digit percent range in most countries. What can be done to help consumers with positive attitudes towards green electricity to “walk the talk”, i.e. to behave consistently with their preferences? We developed a psychological model based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to design a large-scale behavioural intervention survey with 1163 Swiss electricity consumers. Our results show that by providing information targeted at the key factors influencing the intention to purchase green electricity, namely attitudes towards purchase, social norms and perceived behavioural control, a significant increase in green electricity market share can be achieved. Our results show that price is not the only barrier to purchasing green electricity, and that information to increase the perceived benefit of buying green electricity as well as targeted communication to overcome inertia among retail electricity consumers are equally important factors.     

Pricing Access to a Monopoly Input

What price should downstream entrants pay a vertically integrated incumbent monopoly for use of its assets? Courts, legislators, and regulators have at times mandated that incumbent monopolies lease assets required for the production of a retail service to entrants in efforts to increase the competitiveness of retail markets. This paper compares two rules for pricing such monopoly inputs: marginal cost pricing (MCP) and generalized efficient component pricing rule (GECPR). The GECPR is not a fixed price, but is a rule that determines the input price to be paid by the entrant from the entrant's retail price. Comparing the retail market equilibrium under MCP and GECPR, the GECPR leads to lower equilibrium retail prices. If the incumbent is less efficient than the entrant, the GECPR also leads to lower production costs than does the MCP rule. If the incumbent is more efficient than the entrant, however, conditions may exist in which MCP leads to lower production costs than does the GECPR. The analysis is carried out assuming either Bertrand competition, quantity competition, or monopolistic competition between the incumbent and entrant in the downstream market.     

THE IMPACT OF CLEAN FUEL SPECIFICATIONS ON ADELAIDE RETAIL PETROL PRICES*

In March 2001, the South Australian Government introduced a clean fuel policy which it claimed was designed to protect air quality. This paper quantifies the policy's impact on relative Adelaide retail prices for unleaded petrol through Box‐Jenkins autoregressive integrated moving average methodology coupled with Box and Tiao intervention analysis. The analysis uses weekly price data spanning from January 2000 until the beginning of June 2002. It finds the clean fuel policy had a statistically significant impact on relative retail petrol prices, resulting in an increase of almost 1.9 cents per litre and, therefore, costing Adelaide motorists around an extra $15.8 million per annum. Based on claims that the quality of fuel produced by the local Adelaide refiner did not change in response to the implementation of the clean fuel policy, the paper concludes that the increase in relative retail petrol prices was most likely associated with the exercise of market power rather than an increase in refinery production costs.     

Pricing to Firm: an Analysis of Firm‐ and Product‐level Import Prices*

We use Hungarian Customs data on product‐level imports of manufacturing firms to document that the import price of a particular product varies substantially across buying firms. We relate the level of import prices to firm characteristics such as size, foreign ownership, and market power. We develop a theory of “pricing to firm” (PTF), where markups depend on the technology and competitive environment of the buyer. The predictions of the model are confirmed by the data: import prices are higher for firms with greater market power, and for more essential intermediate inputs (with a high share in material costs). We take account of the endogeneity of the buyer’s market power with respect to higher import prices and unobserved cost heterogeneity within product categories. The magnitude of PTF is big: the standard deviation of price predicted by PTF is 21.5%.     

Nominal rigidities and retail price dispersion in Canada over the twentieth century

Abstract We introduce a new data set on over 230,000 monthly prices for 10 goods in 50 Canadian cities over the 40‐year period from 1910 to 1950. This information, coupled with previously published price information from the late twentieth century, allows us to present one of the first comprehensive views of nominal rigidities and retail price dispersion over the past 100 years. We find that nominal rigidities have been conditioned upon prevailing rates of inflation with a greater frequency of price changes occurring in the 1920s and the 1970s. Additionally, the process of retail market integration has followed a U‐shaped trajectory with many domestic markets being better integrated – as measured by the average dispersion of retail prices – at mid‐century than in the 1990s. We also consider the linkages between nominal rigidities and price dispersion, finding results consistent with present‐day data.     

DEMAND UNCERTAINTY AND RESALE PRICE MAINTENANCE

When retailers must commit to shipment quantities prior to resolution of demand uncertainty, manufacturer stipulation of a minimum retail price is likely to be profitable for the manufacturer and not damaging to the retailers. The reason is simple: if demand turns out to be low, the unfettered market-clearing price can lie below the price that maximizes total sales revenue. A minimum retail price that is binding in the low-demand state can thus increase total revenue even though it saddles retailers with unsold merchandise. The ubiquity of full reimbursement for returns in Japan, even though it is in theory merely a second-best way of achieving minimum retail price stipulations, reveals important aspects of manufacturer maintenance of retail prices having to do with enforcement problems, the allocation of risk-bearing, and economic incentives. These aspects of resale price maintenance (RPM) are relevant to the normative evaluation of the special exemptions for RPM that Japan's Fair Trade Commission has long maintained but is now phasing out.     

The impact of market trading mechanism on A-H share price premium

After the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect policy was launched, markets become integrated, while A-H premium rises. This phenomenon is contrary to the existing market segmentation hypotheses. We provide a supplementary explanation for the A-H share price premium based on stock market trading mechanism. As margin trading and securities lending mechanism in Chinese mainland stock market is still immature and incomplete, limited arbitrage and asymmetric margin buying power amplifies the A-H premium even after markets are integrated. Our findings complement the financial microstructure researches on how trading mechanism may influence the dynamic price discovery process, especially those related to issues of short constraints and levered investing.     

Privately-Negotiated Input Prices

We examine settings where input prices are negotiated by industry suppliers, rather than dictated by regulators. We find that the input buyer may agree to pay a high price for an input because the high price serves to reduce the intensity of retail price competition with the input seller. Full exploitation of retail customers can result. However, retail price regulation, competition among buyers, and product heterogeneity all can limit the extraction of consumer surplus. We also identify conditions under which input price negotiations will fail to produce a mutually agreeable input price.We thank Dennis Weisman and two anonymous referees for very helpful commentsJEL classification: L43, L51, L22     

Price Dynamics in Repeat-Purchase Markets*

A retail market in which customers repeat purchase is modelled. When customer movement between firms is sluggish, price overshooting characterizes firms' optimal response to demand or cost shocks. Thus retail prices would be predicted to be more variable than wholesale prices, a prediction at variance with empirical evidence. Uncertainty in demand and customer imperfect information are introduced into the model to attempt to reconcile this inconsistency between theory and evidence. The introduction of demand uncertainty actually increases the magnitude of price overshooting. By contrast, the introduction of imperfect customer information reduces the variability in retail prices.