Estimating the Effect of Salience in Wholesale and Retail Car Markets

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2013
Volume: 103
Issue: 3
Pages: 575-79

Authors (5)

Meghan R. Busse (not in RePEc) Nicola Lacetera (Alma Mater Studiorum - Univers...) Devin G. Pope (University of Chicago) Jorge Silva-Risso (not in RePEc) Justin R. Sydnor (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

1.609 = (α=2.01 / 5 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

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

Abstract

We investigate whether the first digit of an odometer reading is more salient to consumers than subsequent digits. We find that retail transaction prices and volumes of used vehicles drop discontinuously at 10,000-mile odometer thresholds, echoing effects found in the wholesale market by Lacetera, Pope and Sydnor (2012). Our results reveal that retail consumers devote limited attention to evaluating vehicle mileage, and that this drives effects in the wholesale market. We estimate the inattention parameter implied by the price discontinuities. In addition, our results suggest that estimating consumer-level structural parameters using data from an intermediate market can give misleading results.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:103:y:2013:i:3:p:575-79
Journal Field
General
Author Count
5
Added to Database
2026-01-25