Discrete Prices and the Incidence and Efficiency of Excise Taxes

Christopher T. Conlon and Nirupama L. Rao

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2020, vol. 12, issue 4, 111-43

Abstract: This paper uses UPC-level data to examine the relationship between excise taxes, retail prices, and consumer welfare in the distilled spirits market. We document a nominal rigidity in retail prices that arises because firms largely choose prices that end in 99 cents and change prices in whole-dollar increments. A correctly specified model, like an ordered logit, takes this discreteness into account when predicting the effects of alternative taxes. Explicitly accounting for price points substantially impacts estimates of tax incidence and the excess burden cost of tax revenue. Meaningful nonmonotonicities in these quantities expand the potential considerations in setting excise taxes.

JEL-codes: H22 H71 L11 L66 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (24)

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DOI: 10.1257/pol.20160391

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