Skip to main content

Price Discrimination (Empirical Studies)

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics

Abstract

Price discrimination occurs when the prices of similar products sold by the same firm show variation that cannot be attributed to cost variation. Recent empirical work has identified the presence of both direct and indirect price discrimination, after cost-based explanations have been accounted for. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence on the sources of price discrimination. The extent of price discrimination has often been found to increase as competition intensifies, in contrast to conventional wisdom but consistent with new theoretical insights. Finally, various empirical studies have considered the effects of price discrimination on profits, consumer welfare and efficiency.

This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume

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

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Asplund, M., R. Erikkson, and N. Strand. 2002. Price discrimination in oligopoly: Evidence from Swedish newspapers. Discussion paper no. 3269. London: CEPR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benston, G. 1964. Commercial bank price discrimination against small loans: An empirical study. Journal of Finance 19: 631–643.

    Google Scholar 

  • Besanko, D., J.-P. Dubé, and S. Gupta. 2003. Competitive price discrimination strategies in a vertical channel using aggregate retail data. Management Science 49: 1121–1138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borenstein, S. 1991. Selling costs and switching costs: Explaining retail gasoline margins. RAND Journal of Economics 22: 354–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borenstein, S., and N. Rose. 1994. Competition and price dispersion in the U.S. airline industry. Journal of Political Economy 102: 653–683.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Busse, M., and M. Rysman. 2005. Competition and price discrimination in Yellow Pages advertising. RAND Journal of Economics 36: 378–390.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brenkers, R., and F. Verboven. 2006. Liberalizing a distribution system: The European car market. Journal of the European Economic Association 4: 216–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clerides, S. 2002. Book value: Intertemporal pricing and quality discrimination in the U.S. market for books. International Journal of Industrial Organization 20: 1358–1408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clerides, S. 2004. Price discrimination with differentiated products: Definition and identification. Economic Inquiry 42: 402–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford, G., and M. Shum. 2007. Monopoly quality degradation and regulation in cable television. Journal of Law and Economics 50: 181–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Degryse, H., and S. Ongena. 2005. Distance, lending relationships and competition. Journal of Finance 60: 231–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg, P., and F. Verboven. 2001. The evolution of price dispersion in the European car market. Review of Economic Studies 68: 811–848.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graddy, K. 1995. Testing for imperfect competition at the Fulton fish market. RAND Journal of Economics 26: 75–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, P. 2004. Price discrimination in Broadway theatre. RAND Journal of Economics 35: 520–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lott, J., and R. Roberts. 1991. A guide to the pitfalls of identifying price discrimination. Economic Inquiry 29: 14–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McManus, B. 2004. Nonlinear pricing in an oligopoly market: The case of specialty coffee. Mimeo. Olin School of Business, Washington University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miravete, E., and L. Roller. 2003. Competitive nonlinear pricing in duopoly equilibrium: The early U.S. cellular telephone industry. Discussion paper no. 4069. London: CEPR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nevo, A., and C. Wolfram. 2002. Why do manufacturers issue coupons? An empirical analysis of breakfast cereals. RAND Journal of Economics 33: 319–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scherer, F., and D. Ross. 1990. Industrial market structure and economic performance. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shepard, A. 1991. Price discrimination and retail configuration. Journal of Political Economy 99: 30–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verboven, F. 1999. Brand rivalry and market segmentation, with an application to the pricing of optional engine power on automobiles. Journal of Industrial Economics 47: 399–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verboven, F. 2002. Quality-based price discrimination and tax incidence – The market for gasoline and diesel cars in Europe. RAND Journal of Economics 33: 275–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2008 The Author(s)

About this entry

Cite this entry

Verboven, F. (2008). Price Discrimination (Empirical Studies). In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2256-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2256-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics