Price synchronization in retailing: some empirical evidence

Vol. 34 No. 2 (2014)

Apr-Jun / 2014
Published April 1, 2014
PDF-English
PDF-English

How to Cite

Resende, Marcelo, Rodrigo Zeidan, and Gabriel Rega. 2014. “Price Synchronization in Retailing: Some Empirical Evidence”. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy 34 (2):284-93. https://centrodeeconomiapolitica.org.br/repojs/index.php/journal/article/view/273.

Price synchronization in retailing: some empirical evidence

Marcelo Resende
Instituto de Economia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.
Rodrigo Zeidan
Fundação Dom Cabral.
Gabriel Rega
Petrobras.
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 34 No. 2 (2014), Apr-Jun / 2014, Pages 284-293

Abstract

The paper investigates the synchronization of price changes in the context of retail tire dealers in São Paulo-Brazil and ed items in supermarkets for cleaning supplies and food in Rio de Janeiro-Brazil. Results indicate similar and non-negligible synchronization for different brands, although magnitudes are distant from a perfect synchronization pattern. We find interesting patterns in inter-firm competition, with similar magnitudes across different tire types. Intra-chain synchronization is substantial, indicating that a common price adjustment policy tends to be sustained for each chain across different products.

JEL Classification: L11; L81.


Keywords: price synchronization staggering retail