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Who Benefits from Information Disclosure? The Case of Retail Gasoline

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  • Fernando Luco

Abstract

How does online price disclosure affect competition when both consumers and firms can use the disclosed information? This paper addresses this question exploiting the sequential implementation of an online price-disclosure policy in the Chilean retail gasoline industry. The results show that disclosure increased margins by 9 percent on average, though the effects varied across the country depending on the intensity of local search behavior. Because margins increased the least, and even decreased, in high-search areas, where income is also higher, the results also show that price disclosure policies may have important distributional effects.

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  • Fernando Luco, 2019. "Who Benefits from Information Disclosure? The Case of Retail Gasoline," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 277-305, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejmic:v:11:y:2019:i:2:p:277-305
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/mic.20170110
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    1. Conley, T. G., 1999. "GMM estimation with cross sectional dependence," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 1-45, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Porter, Robert H., 2020. "Mergers and coordinated effects," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    2. Horvath, Marco, 2019. "Germany's market transparency unit for fuels: Fostering collusion or competition?," Ruhr Economic Papers 836, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    3. Byrne, David P. & Martin, Leslie A., 2021. "Consumer search and income inequality," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Ruby P. Kishan & Dean Showalter & Timothy P. Opiela, 2021. "Internet Access and Bank Deposit Rates," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 49(4), pages 405-421, December.
    5. Jorge Lemus & Fernando Luco, 2021. "Price Leadership and Uncertainty About Future Costs," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(2), pages 305-337, June.
    6. Bayona, Anna & Brandts, Jordi & Vives, Xavier, 2020. "Information frictions and market power: A laboratory study," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 354-369.
    7. Montag, Felix & Sagimuldina, Alina & Winter, Christoph, 2024. "When does mandatory price disclosure lower prices? Evidence from the German fuel market," Working Papers 344, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    8. Alderighi, Marco & Nicolini, Marcella, 2022. "Strategic information disclosure in vertical markets," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    9. Dieter Pennerstorfer & Philipp Schmidt‐Dengler & Nicolas Schutz & Christoph Weiss & Biliana Yontcheva, 2020. "Information And Price Dispersion: Theory And Evidence," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 61(2), pages 871-899, May.
    10. Francisco Teixeira Raeder & Niagara Rodrigues & Luciano Dias Losekann, 2022. "Asymmetry in Gasoline Price Transmission: How do Fuel Pricing Strategy and the Ethanol Addition Mandate Affect Consumers?," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 12(4), pages 517-527, July.
    11. Leonardo C. B. Cardoso & Carlos Frederico A. Uchôa & Williams Huamani & David R. Just & Raúl V. Gomez, 2022. "Price effects of spatial competition in retail fuel markets: the impact of a new rival nearby," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 101(1), pages 81-105, February.
    12. Korff, Alex, 2021. "Competition on the fast lane: The price structure of homogeneous retail gasoline stations," DICE Discussion Papers 359, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    13. Felix Montag & Robin Mamrak & Alina Sagimuldina & Monika Schnitzer, 2023. "Imperfect Price Information, Market Power, and Tax Pass-Through," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 414, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    14. Bongseok Choi & Donghun Kim, 2024. "Does the proliferation of smartphones reduce consumer search costs? The case of the Korean gasoline market," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 38(2), pages 153-176, June.
    15. Jens‐Peter Loy & Dieter Pennerstorfer & Daniela Rroshi & Christoph Weiss & Biliana Yontcheva, 2022. "Consumer Information and Price Transmission: Empirical Evidence," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(3), pages 631-683, September.
    16. Jeisson Cárdenas & Jesús Otero & Luis H. Gutiérrez, 2022. "Search intensity, search time and prices: evidence from retail diesel markets in France," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4797-4807, December.
    17. de Leverano, Adriano & Baulia, Susmita, 2023. "A new indicator to implement effective spending review policies in the public procurement for standardized goods," ZEW Discussion Papers 23-063, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    18. Raúl Bajo-Buenestado & Miguel Ángel Borrella-Mas, 2022. "The Heterogeneous Tax Pass-Through Under Different Vertical Relationships," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(645), pages 1684-1708.
    19. Felix Montag & Alina Sagimuldina & Monika Schnitzer, 2021. "Does Tax Policy Work When Consumers Have Imperfect Price Information? Theory and Evidence," CESifo Working Paper Series 9138, CESifo.
    20. Brendan Shaw & Jorge Mestre-Ferrandiz, 2020. "Talkin’ About a Resolution: Issues in the Push for Greater Transparency of Medicine Prices," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 125-134, February.
    21. W. Benedikt Schmal, 2022. "From Rules to Regs: A Structural Topic Model of Collusion Research," Papers 2210.02957, arXiv.org.
    22. Thomas Bourveau & Guoman She & Alminas Žaldokas, 2020. "Corporate Disclosure as a Tacit Coordination Mechanism: Evidence from Cartel Enforcement Regulations," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(2), pages 295-332, May.
    23. Xun Bian & Justin C. Contat & Bennie D. Waller & Scott A. Wentland, 2023. "Why Disclose Less Information? Toward Resolving a Disclosure Puzzle in the Housing Market," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 66(2), pages 443-486, February.
    24. González, Xulia & Moral, María J., 2019. "Effects of antitrust prosecution on retail fuel prices," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    25. Martin, Simon, 2020. "Market transparency and consumer search - Evidence from the German retail gasoline market," DICE Discussion Papers 350, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L71 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Primary Products and Construction - - - Mining, Extraction, and Refining: Hydrocarbon Fuels
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q35 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Hydrocarbon Resources
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices

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