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Variety Pass-Through: An Examination of the Ready-to-Eat Breakfast Cereal Market

Author

Listed:
  • Timothy J. Richards

    (Arizona State University)

  • Stephen F. Hamilton

    (California Polytechnic State University)

Abstract

We examine variety pass-through effects that occur when multiproduct retailers adjust the length of their product lines in response to changes in wholesale prices. Studying variety pass-through is essential to understanding how wholesale price changes transmit into retail prices when variety is endogenous. Using data from the ready-to-eat breakfast cereal category, we find that retailers jointly adjust retail prices and the length of their product lines in response to changes in wholesale prices. We show the importance of controlling for the endogeneity of retailers’ product line decisions when calculating price pass-through rates. © 2015 The President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy J. Richards & Stephen F. Hamilton, 2015. "Variety Pass-Through: An Examination of the Ready-to-Eat Breakfast Cereal Market," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(1), pages 166-180, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:97:y:2015:i:1:p:166-180
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Bonnet, Céline & Richards, Timothy J., 2016. "Models of Consumer Demand for Differentiated Products," TSE Working Papers 16-741, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    2. Timothy J. Richards & Stephen F. Hamilton & Koichi Yonezawa, 2017. "Variety and the Cost of Search in Supermarket Retailing," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 50(3), pages 263-285, May.
    3. Antoniades, Alexis & Clerides, Sofronis & Xu, Mingzhi, 2023. "Multi-product firm price and variety response to firm-specific cost shocks," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    4. Timothy J. Richards & Gordon J. Klein & Celine Bonnet & Zohra Bouamra-Mechemache, 2020. "Strategic Obfuscation and Retail Pricing," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 57(4), pages 859-889, December.
    5. Richards, Timothy J. & Hamilton, Stephen F. & Yonezawa, Koichi, 2018. "Retail Market Power in a Shopping Basket Model of Supermarket Competition," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 94(3), pages 328-342.
    6. Bimbo, Francesco & Bonanno, Alessandro & Viscecchia, Rosaria, 2019. "An empirical framework to study food labelling fraud: an application to the Italian extra-virgin olive oil market," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 63(4), October.
    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. Sokullu, Senay, 2023. "More Is Better, Or Not? An Empirical Analysis of Buyer Preferences for Variety on the E-Market," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 450-470.
    9. Yonezawa, Koichi & Richards, Timothy J., 2016. "Competitive Package Size Decisions," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 92(4), pages 445-469.
    10. repec:oup:ajagec:v:99:y:2017:i:1:p: is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Richards, Timothy J. & Hamilton, Stephen F. & Allender, William, 2016. "Search and price dispersion in online grocery markets," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 255-281.
    12. Adalja, Aaron A., 2022. "Voluntary Quality Disclosure in Credence Good Markets," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322570, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Adalja, Aaron A., 2018. "The Impact of Voluntary Non-GMO Labeling on Demand in the Ready-to-Eat Cereal Industry," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 273817, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Richards, Timothy J. & Paudel, Ujjwol, 2024. "Minimum Wages and Pass-Through," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 343648, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    15. Richards, Timothy J. & Hamilton, Stephen F., 2018. "Food waste in the sharing economy," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 109-123.
    16. Torshizi Mohammad & Fulton Murray E. & Gray Richard S., 2018. "Non-Linear Demand in a Linear Town," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 16(2), pages 1-12, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    pass-through effects; multiproduct retailers; retail prices; wholesale prices; ready-to-eat breakfast cereal;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • M30 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - General

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