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Markups as a Hedge for Input Price Uncertainty: Evidence from Sweden

Author

Listed:
  • Agrawal, Sneha

    (International Monetary Fund)

  • Gaurav, Abhishek

    (Princeton University)

  • Suveg, Melinda

    (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN))

Abstract

In this paper, we study a new channel to explain firms’ price-setting behavior. We propose that uncertainty about factor prices has a positive effect on markups. We show theoretically that firms with higher shares of inputs with volatile prices set higher markups. We use the Bartik shift-share approach to empirically test whether firms that use more oil relative to other inputs set higher markups when oil prices are more volatile. Our estimates imply that a one standard deviation increase in oil price volatility leads to a 0.38 percent increase in the markup of firms with average oil exposure.

Suggested Citation

  • Agrawal, Sneha & Gaurav, Abhishek & Suveg, Melinda, 2021. "Markups as a Hedge for Input Price Uncertainty: Evidence from Sweden," Working Paper Series 1418, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1418
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Price setting; Markups; Input price volatility; Precautionary pricing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • D42 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Monopoly
    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L60 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - General

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