Skip to main content
Log in

Market structure and pricing behaviour in Austrian manufacturing

  • Published:
Empirica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The paper provides a formal model of price rigidities which is consistent with the observed difference in pricing across industries. The empirical test for a sample of Austrian manufacturing industries confirms the derived propositions. Concentration, inventoriability, export orientation, and disparities in firm size do not influence the price level directly but are shown to have an impact on the sensitivity of prices to demand and cost changes. Cost (demand) changes are less (more) fully transmitted into prices in concentrated industries.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aiginger, K. (1990) ‘Investitionsverhalten und Marktstruktur; Empirische Ergebnisse für Österreich’, in B. Gahlen, ed,Marktstruktur und Gesamtwirtschaftliche Entwicklung. Berlinet al. Springer Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen, F. (1988) ‘A Theory of Price Rigidities When Quality is Unobservable’,Review of Economic Studies,55, 139–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amemiya, T. (1978) ‘A Note on a Random Coefficient Model’,International Economic Review,19, 793–796.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, M.S., and G.C. Rausser (1986) ‘Some Political Economic Aspects of Macroeconomic Linkages with Agriculture’,American Journal of Agricultural Economics,68, 413–417.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bain, J.S. (1950) ‘Workable Competition in Oligopoly’,The American Economic Review,40, 35–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blinder, A.S. (1982) ‘Inventories and Sticky Prices: More on the Microfoundations of Macroeconomics’,The American Economic Review,72, 334–348.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradburd, R.M., and R.E. Caves (1987) ‘Transaction-Cost Influences on the Adjustment of Industries' Prices and Outputs’,The Review of Economics and Statistics,69, 575–583.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buse, A. (1973) ‘Goodness of Fit in Generalised Least Squares Estimation’,American Statistician,27, 106–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlton, D.W. (1989) ‘The Theory and the Facts of how Markets Clear: Is Industrial Organisation Valuable for Understanding Macroeconomics?’, in R. Schmalensee, and R.D. Willig, eds,Handbook of Industrial Organisation, Vol. 1. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daughety, A. (1990) ‘Beneficial Concentration’,The American Economic Review,80, 1231–1237.

    Google Scholar 

  • DePodwin, H., and R.T. Selden (1963) ‘Business Pricing Policies and Inflation’,Journal of Political Economy,71, 116–127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Domberger, S. (1979) ‘Price Adjustment and Market Structure’,Economic Journal,89, 96–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Encaoua, D., and P. Geroski (1986) ‘Price Dynamics and Competition in Five OECD Countries’,OECD Economic Papers,6, 47–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghosal, V. (1989) ‘Market Structure, Price-Cost Margins, and Unionism: An Empirical Note’,Economics Letters,29, 179–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Godley, W., and W. Nordhaus (1972) ‘Pricing in the Trade Cycle’,Economic Journal,82, 853–882.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, R.J. (1990) ‘What is New-Keynesian Economics’,Journal of Economic Literature,28, 1115–1171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hahn, F. (1990) ‘Kapitalproduktivität in der Österreichischen Industrie’,WIFO-Working Paper, Vienna.

  • Hay, D.A., and D.J. Morris (1991)Industrial Economics and Organisation, Theory and Evidence. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J.C.H., and L. Laudadio (1990) ‘Price Rigidity, Inflation and Market Concentration: Some Canadian Evidence from the 1970s’,Applied Economics,22, 1625–1634.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelton, Ch.M.L., and L.W. Weiss (1989) ‘Change in Concentration, Change in Cost, Change in Demand, and Change in Price’, in L.W. Weiss, ed,Concentration and Price. Cambridge, MA, London, England: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kmenta, J. (1986) ‘Elements of Econometrics’, Second Edition. New York, London: Macmillan Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Means, G.C. (1935)Industrial Prices and their Relative Inflexibility, US Senate Document 13, 74th Congress, 1st Session, Washington.

  • Mills, D.E., and L. Schumann (1985) ‘Industry Structure with Fluctuating Demand’,The American Economic Review,75, 758–767.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neumann, M., I. Böbel, and A. Haid (1979) ‘Profitability, Risk, and Market Structure in West German Industries’,Journal of Industrial Economics,27, 227–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phlips, L. (1971)Effects of Industrial Concentration: A Cross-Section Analysis for the Common Market. Amsterdam: North-Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phlips, L. (1973) ‘Illusions in Testing for Administered Prices: A Reply’,Journal of Industrial Economics,21, 196–199.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phlips, L. (1980) ‘Intertemporal Price Discrimination and Sticky Prices’,The Quarterly Journal of Economics,95, 525–542.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qualls, D. (1979) ‘Market Structure and the Cyclical Flexibility of Price-Cost Margins’,Journal of Business,52, 305–325.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saxonhouse, G.R. (1977) ‘Regressions from Samples Having Different Characteristics’,The Review of Economics and Statistics,59, 234–237.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stigler, G.J. (1968)The Organisation of Industry. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, C.R. (1993)Preisrigidität und Marktstruktur: eine Theoretische und Empirische Analyse, Europäische Hochschulschriften. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, L.W. (1966) ‘Business Pricing Policies and Inflation Reconsidered’,Journal of Political Economy,74, 177–187.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weston, J.F., and S.H. Lustgarten (1974) ‘Concentration and Wage-Price Changes’, in H.J. Goldschmid, M.H. Mann, and F.J. Weston, eds,Industrial Concentration: The New Learning, Boston: Little, Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, H. (1980) ‘A Heteroskedastic-consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and Direct Test for Heteroskedasticity’,Econometrica,48, 817–838.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

I am indebted to the participants of the Industrial Organization Conference held in Vienna in June 1992 and especially to Helmut Schuster and Karl Aiginger for valueble comments.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Weiss, C.R. Market structure and pricing behaviour in Austrian manufacturing. Empirica 21, 115–131 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01383975

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01383975

Key words

Jel codes

Navigation