Does Competition Increase or Decrease Price Dispersion? Insights from One‐Way vs. Round‐Trip Airfares*

B-Tier
Journal: Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics
Year: 2023
Volume: 85
Issue: 2
Pages: 435-455

Authors (3)

Myongjin Kim (not in RePEc) Leilei Shen (not in RePEc) Qi Ge (Vassar College)

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

Does competition increase or decrease price dispersion? Our study addresses this long‐standing debate by presenting an intriguing empirical puzzle. Specifically, leveraging an extended panel from the U.S. airline industry between 1993 and 2013, we find that competition intensity and price dispersion are positively correlated for one‐way tickets but negatively correlated for round‐trip products. We posit that the recent growth in one‐way ticket sales may have led airlines to adjust their pricing strategies to allow for more effective market segmentation. Our study contributes to the empirical literature on price dispersion across multiple goods and helps inform antitrust policy on product bundling.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:obuest:v:85:y:2023:i:2:p:435-455
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25