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Edgeworth Price Cycles: Evidence From The Toronto Retail Gasoline Market

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  • MICHAEL D. NOEL

Abstract

I exploit a new station‐level, twelve‐hourly price dataset to examine the strong retail price cycles in the Toronto gasoline market. The cycles appear similar to theoretical Edgeworth Cycles: strongly asymmetric, tall, rapid, and highly synchronous across stations. I test a series of predictions made by the theory about how firm behaviors would differentially evolve over the path of a cycle. The evidence is consistent with the existence of Edgeworth Cycles and inconsistent with competing hypotheses. While the cycles are an interesting phenomenon for study in their own right, the evidence has important policy and welfare implications.

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  • Michael D. Noel, 2007. "Edgeworth Price Cycles: Evidence From The Toronto Retail Gasoline Market," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 69-92, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jindec:v:55:y:2007:i:1:p:69-92
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6451.2007.00303.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Noel, Michael D., 2004. "Edgeworth Cycles and Focal Prices: Computational Dynamic Markov Equilibria," University of California at San Diego, Economics Working Paper Series qt59t3g818, Department of Economics, UC San Diego.
    2. Michael D. Noel, 2007. "Edgeworth Price Cycles, Cost-Based Pricing, and Sticky Pricing in Retail Gasoline Markets," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(2), pages 324-334, May.
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