Existence And Persistence Of Price Dispersion: An Empirical Analysis

A-Tier
Journal: Review of Economics and Statistics
Year: 2002
Volume: 84
Issue: 3
Pages: 433-444

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Using a unique data set on store-level monthly prices of four homogenous products sold in Israel, I study the existence and characteristics of the dispersion of prices across stores, as well as its persistence over time. I find that price dispersion prevails even after controlling for observed and unobserved product heterogeneity. Moreover, intradistribution mobility is significant: stores move up and down the crosssectional price distribution. Thus, consumers cannot learn about stores that consistently post low prices. As a consequence, price dispersion does not disappear and persists over time as predicted by Varian's (1980) model of sales. © 2002 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:tpr:restat:v:84:y:2002:i:3:p:433-444
Journal Field
General
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-25