IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ebl/ecbull/eb-22-00112.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A dynamical explanation about price formation in illegal markets

Author

Listed:
  • Emiliano Alvarez

    (Universidad de la Republica (Montevideo, Uruguay))

  • Juan Gabriel Brida

    (Universidad de la República (Montevideo, Uruguay))

  • Gaston Cayssials

    (Universidad de la República (Montevideo, Uruguay))

  • Erick Limas

    (Freie Universitat Berlin)

Abstract

This paper introduces a dynamical extension to the static theoretical framework proposed by Slim (2009), where the author analyzes price formation in illegal markets. We develop a simple model with two regimes that can show a rich variety of dynamic behaviors, such as cyclical or even chaotic fluctuations without needing changes in exogenous variables. The analysis does not use random shocks to introduce irregular fluctuations, these arise because of the presence of intrinsic forces associated with nonlinear relations. This model can provide intuitions to explain price changes in illegal markets, particularly in drug ones, where price dynamics can become unpredictable given both the dangerous environment and the unequal degree of trust between the participants in these markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Emiliano Alvarez & Juan Gabriel Brida & Gaston Cayssials & Erick Limas, 2022. "A dynamical explanation about price formation in illegal markets," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 42(2), pages 971-978.
  • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-22-00112
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2022/Volume42/EB-22-V42-I2-P83.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Avner Offer, 1997. "Between the gift and the market: the economy of regard," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 50(3), pages 450-476, August.
    2. Brida, Juan G. & Anyul, Martin Puchet & Punzo, Lionello F., 2003. "Coding economic dynamics to represent regime dynamics. A teach-yourself exercise," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 133-157, June.
    3. Brida, Juan G. & Punzo, Lionello F., 2003. "Symbolic time series analysis and dynamic regimes," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 159-183, June.
    4. Georges Gallais‐Hamonno & Thi‐Hong‐Van Hoang & Kim Oosterlinck, 2019. "Price formation on clandestine markets: the case of the Paris gold market during the Second World War," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 72(3), pages 1048-1072, August.
    5. Gary S. Becker & Kevin M. Murphy & Michael Grossman, 2006. "The Market for Illegal Goods: The Case of Drugs," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 114(1), pages 38-60, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Juan Gabriel Brida & Juan Pereyra & Martín Puchet Anyul & Wiston Adrián Risso, 2011. "Regímenes de desempeño económico y dualismo estructural en la dinámica de las entidades federativas de México, 1970 - 2006," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 1011, Department of Economics - dECON.
    2. Bibiana Lanzilotta Mernies, 2016. "Taxonomia y Dinamica de las Expectativas Economicas de los Empresarios Industriales en Uruguay. Un Analisis de Conglomerados," Revista de Economía del Rosario, Universidad del Rosario, vol. 17(2), pages 229-256, February.
    3. Juan Gabriel Brida & Nicolás Garrido & Silvia London, 2013. "Estudio del desempeno económico regional: el caso argentino," Revista Cuadernos de Economia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, FCE, CID, December.
    4. Brida, Juan Gabriel & Carrera, Edgar J. Sanchez & Segarra, Verónica, 2020. "Clustering and regime dynamics for economic growth and income inequality," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 99-108.
    5. Brida, Juan Gabriel & London, Silvia & Risso, Wilson Adrián, 2010. "Economic performance clubs in the Americas: 1955-2003," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), August.
    6. Brida, Juan Gabriel & Gómez, David Matesanz & Seijas, Maria Nela, 2017. "Debt and growth: A non-parametric approach," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 486(C), pages 883-894.
    7. Juan Gabriel Brida & Silvia London & Lionello Punzo & Wiston Adrian Risso, 2011. "An Alternative View of the Convergence Issue of Growth Empirics," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 320-350, September.
    8. Silvia London & Gastón Cayssials & Fernando Antonio Ignacio González, 2022. "Population growth and economic growth: a panel causality analysis," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4574, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    9. Manolis Galenianos & Rosalie Liccardo Pacula & Nicola Persico, 2012. "A Search-Theoretic Model of the Retail Market for Illicit Drugs," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 79(3), pages 1239-1269.
    10. Edward M. Shepard & Paul R. Blackely, 2010. "Economics of Crime and Drugs: Prohibition and Public Policies for Illicit Drug Control," Chapters, in: Bruce L. Benson & Paul R. Zimmerman (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of Crime, chapter 10, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Scalco, Andréa & Ganga, Gilberto & Oliveira, Sandra & Piao, Roberta & Pigatto, Gessuir & Machado, João Guilherme, 2021. "Perception of Quality Attributes in Short Agri-food Chains," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 12(02), June.
    12. Brida, Juan Gabriel & London, Silvia & Rojas, Mara, 2012. "Convergencia interregional en dinámica de regimenes: el caso del Mercosur [Regional convergence of dynamic of regimens: the case of Mercosur]," MPRA Paper 36863, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Williams, J. & van Ours, J.C. & Grossmann, M., 2011. "Why Do Some People Want to Legalize Cannabis Use?," Discussion Paper 2011-007, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    14. Chian Jones Ritten & Christopher Bastian & Owen Phillips, 2021. "The relative effectiveness of law enforcement policies aimed at reducing illegal trade: Evidence from laboratory markets," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(11), pages 1-20, November.
    15. Ben Fine, 1999. "Consumption for Historians: An Economist's Gaze," Working Papers 91, Department of Economics, SOAS University of London, UK.
    16. Avner Offer, 2012. "Self-interest, Sympathy and the Invisible Hand : From Adam Smith to Market Liberalism," Economic Thought, World Economics Association, vol. 1(2), pages 1-1, December.
    17. Daniel Carvell & Janet Currie & W. Bentley MacLeod, 2012. "Accidental death and the rule of joint and several liability," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 43(1), pages 51-77, March.
    18. Leonardo Raffo López & José Luis Segura, 2018. "La ineficacia de las políticas de represión a la oferta de drogas: una explicación alternativa," Ensayos de Economía 16782, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Medellín.
    19. Desierto, Desiree & Koyama, Mark, 2024. "The Political Economy of Status Competition: Sumptuary Laws in Preindustrial Europe," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 84(2), pages 479-516, June.
    20. Ilana Krausman Ben-Amos, 1997. "Human Bonding: Parents and Their Offspring in Early Modern England," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _017, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    price formation; illegal markets; nonlinear relations; chaos;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C6 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling
    • E3 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-22-00112. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: John P. Conley (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.