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In search of a euro effect: Big lessons from a Big Mac Meal?

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  • Parsley, David
  • Wei, Shang-Jin

Abstract

Was the adoption of the euro accompanied by an increase in prices? Did it promote goods market arbitrage in the form of faster convergence to a common price? By comparing the experience of eurozone countries to non-euro European countries in a 'difference-in-differences' specification, we net out effects on prices unrelated to the euro. We find neither evidence of significant price increases associated with the euro, nor evidence of a significant improvement in market integration.

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  • Parsley, David & Wei, Shang-Jin, 2008. "In search of a euro effect: Big lessons from a Big Mac Meal?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 260-276, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jimfin:v:27:y:2008:i:2:p:260-276
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    1. Becker, Sascha S. & Nautz, Dieter, 2012. "Inflation, price dispersion and market integration through the lens of a monetary search model," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(3), pages 624-634.
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    5. Gyódi Kristóf & Sobolewski Maciej & Ziembiński Michał, 2017. "What Drives Price Dispersion in the European E-commerce Industry?," Central European Economic Journal, Sciendo, vol. 3(50), pages 53-71, December.
    6. Alam, Md. Rafayet & Morshed, A.K.M. Mahbub, 2021. "Price dispersion across U.S. cities: The role of Walmart," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 227-237.
    7. Herz, Benedikt & Mejer, Malwina, 2021. "The effect of design protection on price and price dispersion: Evidence from automotive spare parts," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Michael Ehrmann, 2011. "Inflation Developments and Perceptions after the Euro Cash Changeover," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 12(1), pages 33-58, February.
    9. Kwok Tong Soo, 2016. "Are hamburgers harmless?," Working Papers 127876397, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    10. Marina Glushenkova & Marios Zachariadis, 2024. "How different are Monetary Unions to national economies according to prices?," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(1), pages 684-702, January.
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    12. Jaanika Meriküll & Tairi Rõõm, 2015. "One Currency, One Price? Euro Changeover-Related Inflation in Estonia," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 822-839, July.
    13. Ogrokhina, Olena, 2015. "Market integration and price convergence in the European Union," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 55-74.
    14. Nikolsko-Rzhevskyy, Alex & Ogrokhina, Olena, 2018. "Behavior of retail prices in common currency areas: The case of the Eurozone," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 49-57.
    15. Herz, Benedikt & Mejer, Malwina, 2020. "The effect of design protection on price and price dispersion: Evidence from automotive spare parts," MPRA Paper 104137, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 Nov 2020.
    16. Jan-Egbert Sturm & Ulrich Fritsche & Michael Graff & Michael Lamla & Sarah Lein & Volker Nitsch & David Liechti & Daniel Triet, 2009. "The euro and prices: changeover-related inflation and price convergence in the euro area," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 381, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    17. Filip Lurka & Paul Kattuman, 2023. "The Euro and Price Convergence in Central and Eastern Europe," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 19(1), pages 341-364, March.
    18. Luca Macedoni, 2021. "Has the Euro Shrunk the Band? Relative Purchasing Power Parity Convergence in a Currency Union," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(2), pages 593-620, April.
    19. Marina Glushenkova & Marios Zachariadis, 2016. "Understanding Post‐Euro Law‐of‐One‐Price Deviations," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 48(6), pages 1073-1111, September.
    20. Sara Bleninger, 2013. "Welfare Effects of the Euro Cash Changeover: Do Assumptions Really Matter?," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 577, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    21. Alberto Cavallo & Brent Neiman & Roberto Rigobon, 2014. "Currency Unions, Product Introductions, and the Real Exchange Rate," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(2), pages 529-595.
    22. Ogrokhina, Olena, 2019. "Persistence of prices in the Eurozone capital cities: Evidence from the Economist Intelligence Unit City Data," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 330-338.
    23. Chen, Mei-Ping & Chen, Wen-Yi & Tseng, Tseng-Chan, 2017. "Co-movements of returns in the health care sectors from the US, UK, and Germany stock markets: Evidence from the continuous wavelet analyses," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 484-498.
    24. Kenneth W Clements & Yihui Lan & Haiyan Liu & Long Vo, 2022. "The Icp, Ppp And Household Expenditure Patterns," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 22-18, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    25. Marina Glushenkova & Marios Zachariadis, 2020. "Understanding post-Crisis price deviations in Europe: Disintegration or mere adjustment?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1797-1814, April.

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