STATIONARITY TESTS IN GEOGRAPHIC MARKETS: AN APPLICATION TO SOUTH AFRICAN MILK MARKETS

The paper focuses on the delineation of geographic markets in competition analysis, investigating the use of tests of price co‐movement in the market definition exercise. To this end, the first part is devoted to a conceptual framework for market definition (adopted from Haldrup (2003 )). Thereafter, a variety of price tests are explored that can be applied within the quantitative part of the framework. Similar to Forni (2004 ), the paper emphasizes the use of stationarity tests (that is, tests for the existence of unit roots) – illustrating their application to a recent competition investigation in South Africa.     

VERTICAL INTEGRATION IN SOUTH AFRICAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS: A COMPETITION ANALYSIS

This article develops an analytical framework that can be used to assess competition in South African telecommunications and, thereafter, applies this framework in an evaluation of vertical integration patterns in the telecommunications industry. It is shown that, despite recent regulatory reforms, substantial vertical competition concerns remain unaddressed in both fixed line and mobile telecommunications markets.     

CIGARETTE DEMAND IN SOUTH AFRICA OVER 1996-2006: THE ROLE OF PRICE, INCOME AND HEALTH AWARENESS

The study seeks to re‐investigate the role of price, income and health awareness in the evolution of South African cigarette demand over the period 1996 to 2006. At first glance, rising cigarette prices appear to have played an important role in reducing cigarette consumption over the sample period, especially during the late 90s. But how dependent is the impact of price increases on general economic conditions and overall health awareness among smokers? Health awareness, in particular, has not received sufficient attention in the South African context, due to a lack of data. Previous estimates of price and income elasticities of cigarette demand are based on long annual time series data, which do not allow for changes in underlying tastes and preferences. The paper attempts to disentangle the forces of price, income, health awareness and policy intervention using a quarterly data set. In addition, the study also cautions against the upward bias in estimates derived from formal cigarette sales data – in the light of increasing illicit cigarette volumes in South Africa.