Centrality and Pricing in Spatially Differentiated Markets: The Case of Gasoline

Matthias Firgo, Dieter Pennerstorfer and Christoph Weiss

No 432, WIFO Working Papers from WIFO

Abstract: This paper highlights the importance of "centrality" for pricing. Firms characterised by a more central position in a spatial network are more powerful in terms of having a stronger impact on their competitors' prices and on equilibrium prices. These propositions are derived from a simple theoretical model and tested empirically for the retail gasoline market in Vienna (Austria). We compute different measures of network centrality by using information on the locations of gasoline stations in the road network. Results from a spatial autoregressive model confirm that the strategic interaction in pricing between competitors is significantly related to their degree of centrality.

Keywords: Gasoline prices; Network centrality; Spatial differentiation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 pages
Date: 2012-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-ino, nep-sbm and nep-tid
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Journal Article: Centrality and pricing in spatially differentiated markets: The case of gasoline (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wfo:wpaper:y:2012:i:432

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