Is the German Retail Gas Market Competitive? A Spatial-temporal Analysis Using Quantile Regression

Alex Kihm, Nolan Ritter and Colin Vance

No 522, Ruhr Economic Papers from RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen

Abstract: We explore whether non-competitive pricing prevails in Germany's retail gasoline market by examining the influence of the crude oil price on the retail gasoline price, focusing specifically on how this influence varies according to the brand and to the degree of competition in the vicinity of the station. Our analysis identifies several factors other than cost - including the absence of nearby competitors and regional market concentration - that play a significant role in mediating the influence of the oil price on the retail gas price, suggesting price setting power among stations.

Keywords: panel data; quantile regression; spatial competition; gasoline market (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C33 Q41 R41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-com, nep-ene, nep-geo, nep-reg and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:rwirep:522

DOI: 10.4419/86788597

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