Centrality and pricing in spatially differentiated markets: The case of gasoline

B-Tier
Journal: International Journal of Industrial Organization
Year: 2015
Volume: 40
Issue: C
Pages: 81-90

Score contribution per author:

0.670 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

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

Abstract

We highlight the importance of ‘centrality’ for pricing. Firms characterized by a more central position in a spatial network are more powerful in terms of having a stronger impact on their competitors' prices and on equilibrium prices. These propositions are derived from a simple theoretical model and investigated empirically for the retail gasoline market of Vienna, Austria. We compute a measure of network centrality based on the locations of gasoline stations in the road network. Results from a spatial autoregressive model show that prices of gasoline stations are more strongly correlated with prices of central competitors.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:indorg:v:40:y:2015:i:c:p:81-90
Journal Field
Industrial Organization
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25