The Role of Mechanical Refrigeration in Spatial and Temporal Price Dynamics for Regional U.S. Egg Markets, 1880–1911

Lee Craig () and Matthew Holt

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This paper examines the role of mechanical refrigeration in temporal and spatial price relationships for regional egg markets in the United States, 1880–1911. Notably, this period encompasses an era in which widespread adoption of mechanical refrigeration greatly impacted the ability to briefly store otherwise perishable items. This development in turn altered observed price dynamics for many perishable commodities, including fresh eggs. We use a class of time series models, time–varying autoregressions (TVARs), to document both the structural change and the corresponding impact on spatial price dynamics for U.S. regional egg price relationships during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Keywords: Egg prices; Half life; Law of one price; Refrigeration; Structural change; Time–varying smooth transition autoregression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C22 N91 Q13 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-06-19
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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