A Textbook Example of International Price Discrimination

Christos Cabolis, Sofronis Clerides, Ioannis Ioannou and Daniel Senft

Yale School of Management Working Papers from Yale School of Management

Abstract: We investigate differences in book prices between the United States and other countries. We find that general audience books are similarly priced internationally, but textbooks are substantially more expensive in the United States (often more than double the price). This disparity is much more pronounced for commercial publishers than for university presses. We argue that supply-side factors like cost and market structure can not explain this phenomenon. We discuss several demand-side explanations; our preferred theory is that higher US textbook prices reflect the unique status of the textbook as a centerpiece of US college instruction.

Keywords: International price discrimination; book industry; textbooks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005-09-01, Revised 2008-08-01
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Related works:
Journal Article: A textbook example of international price discrimination (2007)
Working Paper: A Textbook Example of International Price Discrimination (2005)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ysm:wpaper:amz2640

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