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Revisiting the Relationship between Competition and Price Discrimination

Author

Listed:
  • Ambarish Chandra
  • Mara Lederman

Abstract

We revisit the relationship between competition and price discrimination. Theoretically, we show that if consumers differ in terms of both their underlying willingness-to-pay and their brand loyalty, competition may increase price differences between some consumers while decreasing them between others. Empirically, we find that competition has little impact at the top or the bottom of the price distribution but a significant impact in the middle, thus increasing some price differentials but decreasing others. Our findings highlight the importance of understanding the relevant sources of consumer heterogeneity and can reconcile earlier conflicting findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Ambarish Chandra & Mara Lederman, 2018. "Revisiting the Relationship between Competition and Price Discrimination," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 190-224, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejmic:v:10:y:2018:i:2:p:190-224
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/mic.20160252
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Amina Enkhbold, 2024. "Monetary Policy Transmission Through Shadow and Traditional Banks," Staff Working Papers 24-8, Bank of Canada.
    2. Gihwan Yi & Min Kim & Hoe Sang Chung, 2024. "The Revenue Impact of Differential Seat Pricing and Competition in the Movie Theater Market," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 64(3), pages 361-382, May.
    3. Myongjin Kim & Leilei Shen & Qi Ge, 2023. "Does Competition Increase or Decrease Price Dispersion? Insights from One‐Way vs. Round‐Trip Airfares," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 85(2), pages 435-455, April.
    4. Ivaldi, Marc & Petrova, Milena & Urdanoz, Miguel, 2022. "Airline cooperation effects on airfare distribution: An auction-model-based approach," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 239-250.
    5. Matthew S. Lewis, 2020. "On the Absence of Directional Price Discrimination in the U.S. Airline Industry," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(3), pages 556-581, September.
    6. Goetz, Daniel, 2023. "Telemedicine competition, pricing, and technology adoption: Evidence from talk therapists," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    7. Silva, Thiago Christiano & Dias, Felipe A.M. & dos Reis, Vinicius E. & Tabak, Benjamin M., 2022. "The role of network topology in competition and ticket pricing in air transportation: Evidence from Brazil," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 601(C).
    8. Brian A Bourquard & Steven Y Wu, 2020. "An Analysis of Beverage Size Restrictions," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(1), pages 169-185, January.
    9. Lewis, Matthew S., 2021. "Identifying airline price discrimination and the effect of competition," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    10. Bourquard, Brian A. & Wu, Steven Y., 2019. "An Analysis of Beverage Size Restrictions," IZA Discussion Papers 12376, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Luttmann, Alexander & Gaggero, Alberto A, 2020. "Purchase discounts and travel premiums during holiday periods: Evidence from the airline industry," MPRA Paper 104863, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Sunhyung Lee & Zexuan Liu & Haojun Yu, 2021. "Heterogeneous price effects and increased price dispersion from quantity‐based congestion management," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(3), pages 1378-1402, July.
    13. Brad Shrago, 2024. "The Spirit Effect: Ultra-Low Cost Carriers and Fare Dispersion in the U.S. Airline Industry," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 64(4), pages 549-579, June.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L93 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Air Transportation
    • M31 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Marketing

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