Price dispersion then and now: Evidence from retail and e-tail markets
- 19 May 2004
- book chapter
- Published by Emerald Publishing
Abstract
This paper uses two datasets to examine price dispersion spanning a 24-year period. The first dataset permits us to compare levels of retail price dispersion in 1976 and 2000, while the second allows for a comparison of retail dispersion in 1976 with dispersion in e-tail markets in 2000. Our results indicate that price dispersion in 2000 for both retail and e-tail markets is comparable to that observed in 1976 retail markets. This suggests that, for the products in our sample, the Information Age has done little to reduce price dispersion in retail or e-tail markets.Keywords
This publication has 13 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Emerging Landscape for Retail E-CommerceJournal of Economic Perspectives, 2001
- Frictionless Commerce? A Comparison of Internet and Conventional RetailersManagement Science, 2000
- Reducing Buyer Search Costs: Implications for Electronic MarketplacesManagement Science, 1997
- Competitive Promotional StrategiesThe Journal of Business, 1988
- Equilibrium Price DispersionEconometrica, 1983
- A Model in which an Increase in the Number of Sellers Leads to a Higher PriceEconometrica, 1980
- A Simple Model of Equilibrium Price DispersionJournal of Political Economy, 1979
- Price Differences in Almost Competitive MarketsThe Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1979
- Bargains and Ripoffs: A Model of Monopolistically Competitive Price DispersionThe Review of Economic Studies, 1977
- Mixed pricing in oligopolyJournal of Economic Theory, 1977