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Pass-Through and Consumer Search: An Empirical Analysis

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  • Timothy J. Richards
  • Miguel I. Gómez
  • Jun Lee

Abstract

Retail-price pass-through is one of the most important issues facing manufacturers of consumer packaged goods. Although retailers tend to pass higher wholesale prices through to consumers quickly and completely, they often do not pass on trade promotions. Currently, asymmetric pass-through is commonly thought to result from retailers' exercise of market power. Alternatively, it may be because of consumer search behavior and retailers' competitive response. We test this theory using a panel threshold asymmetric error-correction model applied to wholesale and retail scanner data for ready-to-eat cereal for a number of retailers in the Los Angeles metropolitan market. We find that consumer search behavior contributes significantly to imperfect pass-through. By allowing pass-through to depend on market power and consumer search costs, we find results that are contrary to the conventional wisdom. Namely, market power causes retail prices to fall quickly and rise slowly, whereas consumer search behavior causes retail prices to rise quickly and fall slowly-precisely the "rockets and feathers" phenomenon.

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy J. Richards & Miguel I. Gómez & Jun Lee, 2014. "Pass-Through and Consumer Search: An Empirical Analysis," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 96(4), pages 1049-1069.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ajagec:v:96:y:2014:i:4:p:1049-1069.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ajae/aau009
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Thomas Bittmann & Jens-Peter Loy, 2021. "Price transmission and cost pass-through on the German dairy value chain," Journal of New Economy, Ural State University of Economics, vol. 22(3), pages 84-102, October.
    3. Mohammad J Alam & Raghbendra Jha, 2016. "Asymmetric threshold vertical price transmission in wheat and flour markets in Dhaka (Bangladesh): seemingly unrelated regression analysis," ASARC Working Papers 2016-03, The Australian National University, Australia South Asia Research Centre.
    4. Loy, Jens-Peter & Weiss, Christoph R. & Glauben, Thomas, 2016. "Asymmetric cost pass-through? Empirical evidence on the role of market power, search and menu costs," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 184-192.
    5. Limon Deb & Yoonsuk Lee & Sang Hyeon Lee, 2020. "Market Integration and Price Transmission in the Vertical Supply Chain of Rice: An Evidence from Bangladesh," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-21, July.
    6. Yizao Liu & Xuan Chen & Adam N. Rabinowitz, 2019. "The role of retail market power and state regulations in the heterogeneity of farm‐retail price transmission of private label and branded products," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 50(1), pages 91-99, January.
    7. Bittmann, Thomas & Loy, Jens-Peter & Anders, Sven, 2017. "Cost Pass-Through And Product Differentiation," 2017 International Congress, August 28-September 1, 2017, Parma, Italy 261145, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Mohammad Jahangir Alam & Andrew M. McKenzie & Ismat Ara Begum & Jeroen Buysse & Eric J. Wailes & Guido Huylenbroeck, 2016. "Asymmetry Price Transmission in the Deregulated Rice Markets in Bangladesh: Asymmetric Error Correction Model," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 498-511, November.
    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. Elena Claire Ricci & Massimo Peri & Lucia Baldi, 2019. "The Effects of Agricultural Price Instability on Vertical Price Transmission: A Study of the Wheat Chain in Italy," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-14, February.
    11. Hayashida, K., 2018. "Bargaining Power between Food Processors and Retailers: Evidence from Japanese Milk Transactions," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277730, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Bittmann, Thomas & Holzer, Patrick & Loy, Jens-Peter, 2016. "Seasonal Cost Pass-Through In The German Milk Market," 56th Annual Conference, Bonn, Germany, September 28-30, 2016 244779, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    13. Kim, Hyeyoung & Zansler, Marisa & House, Lisa A., 2016. "The imperfect price responses of orange juice demand in the U.S," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235511, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Bittmann, Thomas & Bronnmann, Julia & Gordon, Daniel V., 2020. "Product differentiation and dynamics of cost pass-through in the German fish market: An error-correction-distance measure approach," Journal of Commodity Markets, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    15. Zhang, Wenbei & Luckert, Marty & Qiu, Feng, 2023. "Asymmetric price transmission and impulse responses from U.S. crude oil to jet fuel and diesel markets," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    16. Omid Zamani & Thomas Bittmann & Jens‐Peter Loy, 2022. "The role of temperature for seasonal market integration: a case study of poultry in Iran," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(1), pages 187-215, January.
    17. Zamani, Omid & Bittmann, Thomas & Loy, Jens-Peter, 2018. "Search costs and cost pass-through: Evidence for the Iranian poultry market," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 119-122.
    18. Vardges Hovhannisyan, 2018. "A structural model of cost pass-through: the case of the US yogurt retailing," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 805-830, September.
    19. Tim Lloyd, 2017. "Forty Years of Price Transmission Research in the Food Industry: Insights, Challenges and Prospects," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(1), pages 3-21, February.
    20. Dariusz Kusz & Bożena Kusz & Paweł Hydzik, 2022. "Changes in the Price of Food and Agricultural Raw Materials in Poland in the Context of the European Union Accession," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-21, April.
    21. Fedoseeva, Svetlana & Zeidan, Rodrigo, 2016. "A dead-end tunnel or the light at the end of it: The role of BRICs in European exports," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 237-248.

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