Price dispersion and seller heterogeneity in retail food markets

Price dispersion, i.e. a homogeneous product being sold at different prices by different sellers, is among the most replicated findings in empirical economics. The paper assesses the extent and determinants of spatial price dispersion for 14 perfectly homogeneous food products in more than 400 retailers in a market characterized by the persistence of a large number of relatively small traditional food stores, alongside large supermarkets. The extent of observed price dispersion is quite high. When prices in an urban area (where the spatial concentration of sellers is higher) are compared with those in smaller towns and rural areas, differences in search costs and the potentially higher degree of competition do not yield lower prices. Other counteracting factors, including differences in seller costs and consumer incomes, make prices, on average, higher in the urban area for 11 of the 14 products considered. For many, but not all, the products supermarkets proved to be less expensive than traditional retailers, although average savings from food shopping at supermarkets were extremely low. Finally, the results of the study provide evidence that retailers have different pricing strategies and these differences also emerge for supermarkets belonging to the same chain. The results presented in the paper suggest that a variety of factors play a role in explaining price dispersion. In addition to differences in seller costs, the contemporaneous heterogeneity of retailers (in terms of services provided) and consumers (in terms of search costs and preferences) makes the emergence of monopolistic competition possible as well as allowing small traditional food retailers to remain in business.     

Impacts of world prices transmission to domestic rice markets in rural Iran

This paper attempts to assess the degree to which Iranian rural households have responded to the change in price of imported rice due to exchange-rate unification, and to examine the extent to which the policy has affected the economic welfare of various household income groups, particularly the poor. Utilizing samples of 2472 households selected from national expenditure survey data of 2002 and 2003, Armington and pass-through elasticities were calculated as two measures of substitutability, and are discussed separately for each household group in these areas.     

A protectionist foodgrain price policy : The case of rice in Panama

Panama has pursued a protectionist price policy for rice, with domestic prices well above the world market level. The government marketing authority purchases sufficient rice to support the established price level and stores or exports the surplus. Although producers benefit, this policy imposes significant costs on consumers, government expenditures and economic efficiency. One policy recommendation is to bring domestic prices in line with the international level. Although free trade is one possibility, a market stabilization programme could be retained. At a minimum Panama's rice price should reflect domestic demand and not production costs. The unfavourable rice-fertilizer price ratio also deserves attention.     

Competition in Turkish mobile telecommunications markets: Price elasticities and network substitution

This paper estimates demand elasticities for Turkish mobile telecommunications markets. In contrast to most other studies, firm-level data is used to estimate dynamic panel data models including instrumental variable techniques. Both short- and long-run elasticities are calculated, yielding a long-run price elasticity of −0.72 for the post-paid market and of −0.33 for the pre-paid market. The short-run price elasticity is estimated to be −0.36 for the post-paid market and −0.20 for the pre-paid market. In addition, there is evidence of fixed-to-mobile traffic substitution for consumers who use pre-paid cards.     

Managing food price risks and instability in a liberalizing market environment: Overview and policy options

Managing food price risks and instability is a major challenge in the midst of ongoing food market reforms. Key findings from the papers in this special volume revolve around five broad areas: (i) the sources and magnitudes of food price instability in different country contexts; (ii) the economic and social costs stemming from price instability; (iii) the lessons from food market reforms to date; (iv) the design of policy reforms in ways that promote efficient and stable market development and protect the interests of the poor; and (v) potential policy responses to food price instability in a liberalizing market environment.     

基于时间序列分析的输变电工程变压器价格短期预测研究

变压器价格是影响输变电工程投资的重要因素,但是由于影响变压器价格因素众多,因此对变压器价格进行科学预测有一定的难度,而输变电工程投资管控又迫切需要对变压器价格进行准确地预测。鉴于此,文章以2010~2018年输变电工程变压器价格为研究样本,在描述变压器价格变动轨迹的基础上,分别以移动平均法、单指数平滑法、双指数平滑法、非周期的Holt-Winter法、AR模型和MA模型对变压器价格进行预测,给出2019年和2020年变压器价格的预测值并进行优劣判断。研究结果表明:双指数平滑法预测精度相对较高,而引入多种时间序列模型进行变压器价格预测,能够给出投资决策者多种选择,可以提高决策的精确性和柔性,对输变电工程实现精准投资和良性投资控制具有一定的积极意义。     

我国网对网跨区（省）电力交易价格机制创新

建立科学、合理的跨区（省）电力交易价格机制,有利于加快跨区（省）电网发展,有利于促进能源资源优化配置。由于我国电价机制正在完善中,独立输配电价机制尚未建立,当前跨区（省）电力交易尤其是网对网跨区（省）电力交易的价格机制存在一些突出问题。基于跨区（省）电力交易价格机制与方法的分析,借鉴国外跨国（区）电力交易中送电、输电和受电价格制定的经验,从完善价格体系、实施统一的价格机制、引入市场定价方法等方面提出了我国网对网跨区（省）电力交易价格体系与机制创新的政策建议。