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Market Power, Price Adjustment, And Inflation

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  • Allen Head
  • Alok Kumar
  • Beverly Lapham

Abstract

We study a monetary search economy in which endogenous fluctuations in market power driven by changes in consumers' search intensity determine the extent of price adjustment to movements in productivity and the money growth rate. A calibrated version of the economy exhibits countercyclical fluctuations in markups and is consistent with the observed incomplete response of nominal prices to cost movements associated with productivity fluctuations and to changes in the money growth rate. Furthermore, a higher average rate of inflation results in a lower average markup and increases the sensitivity of prices to fluctuations in either productivity or money growth. Copyright (2010) by the Economics Department of the University of Pennsylvania and the Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association.

Suggested Citation

  • Allen Head & Alok Kumar & Beverly Lapham, 2010. "Market Power, Price Adjustment, And Inflation," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 51(1), pages 73-98, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:ier:iecrev:v:51:y:2010:i:1:p:73-98
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    Cited by:

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    2. Elena Bobeica & Matteo Ciccarelli & Isabel Vansteenkiste, 2019. "The link between labor cost and price inflation in the euro area," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 848, Central Bank of Chile.
    3. Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Oleksandr Talavera, 2017. "Price Setting in Online Markets: Basic Facts, International Comparisons, and Cross-Border Integration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(1), pages 249-282, January.
    4. 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.
    5. Lucas Herrenbrueck, 2017. "An Open-Economy Model With Money, Endogenous Search, And Heterogeneous Firms," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(4), pages 1648-1670, October.
    6. Lucas Herrenbrueck, 2018. "Instability of endogenous price dispersion equilibria: A simulation," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 51(4), pages 1363-1385, November.
    7. Allen Head & Lucy Qian Liu & Guido Menzio & Randall Wright, 2012. "Sticky Prices: A New Monetarist Approach," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 10(5), pages 939-973, October.
    8. Clara De Luigi & Florian Huber & Josef Schreiner, 2019. "The impact of labor cost growth on inflation in selected CESEE countries," Focus on European Economic Integration, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue Q4/19, pages 56-78.
    9. Alex Nikolsko‐Rzhevskyy & Oleksandr Talavera & Nam Vu, 2023. "The flood that caused a drought," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(4), pages 965-981, October.
    10. Ratul, Lahkar, 2011. "The dynamic instability of dispersed price equilibria," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 146(5), pages 1796-1827, September.
    11. Williamson, Stephen & Wright, Randall, 2010. "New Monetarist Economics: Models," Handbook of Monetary Economics, in: Benjamin M. Friedman & Michael Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Monetary Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 2, pages 25-96, Elsevier.
    12. Bobeica, Elena & Ciccarelli, Matteo & Vansteenkiste, Isabel, 2021. "The changing link between labor cost and price inflation in the United States," Working Paper Series 2583, European Central Bank.
    13. Lucy Qian Liu & Liang Wang & Randall Wright, 2015. "Costly Credit and Sticky Prices," Working Papers 201505, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    14. Ciżkowicz, Piotr & Rzońca, Andrzej, 2013. "Does inflation harm corporate investment? Empirical evidence from OECD countries," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 7, pages 1-38.
    15. repec:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2010-058 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Talavera, Oleksandr & Vu, Nam, 2021. "Quality and price setting of high-tech goods," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 69-85.
    17. David Fielding & Christopher Hajzler & James (Jim) C. MacGee, 2017. "Price-Level Dispersion versus Inflation-Rate Dispersion: Evidence from Three Countries," Staff Working Papers 17-3, Bank of Canada.
    18. Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Oleksandr Talavera & Nam Vu, 2020. "Quality of Goods and Price Setting for CPUs," Discussion Papers 20-23, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham.
    19. Craig, Ben & Rocheteau, Guillaume, 2008. "State-dependent pricing, inflation, and welfare in search economies," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 441-468, April.
    20. Vinish Shrestha & Sara Markowitz, 2016. "The Pass-Through Of Beer Taxes To Prices: Evidence From State And Federal Tax Changes," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(4), pages 1946-1962, October.
    21. Becker, Sascha, 2011. "What drives the relationship between inflation and price dispersion? Market power vs. price rigidity," SFB 649 Discussion Papers 2011-019, Humboldt University Berlin, Collaborative Research Center 649: Economic Risk.
    22. Chiang, Shu-Hen & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Liao, Ying, 2021. "Exploring the sources of inflation dynamics: New evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 313-332.
    23. Liang Wang, 2011. "Inflation and Welfare with Search and Price Dispersion," Working Papers 201113, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    24. Fabio Antoniou & Raffaele Fiocco, 2023. "Storable Good Market With Intertemporal Cost Variations," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 64(1), pages 361-385, February.
    25. repec:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2011-019 is not listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System

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