Search results for "price elasticity"
showing 10 items of 11 documents
Demand for Primary Schooling in Rural Mali : Should User Fees Be Increased ?
1996
International audience; This paper presents estimates of the price elasticity of demand for primary schooling, using household and school survey data from rural Mali. The elasticity of enrolment with respect to the local school fee is compared with the effects on enrolment of distance to the school and various indicators of school quality, including books per classroom and the number of grades offered. Fees have a negative effect; however, certain improvements in school quality could easily offset in terms of enrolment any negative effect of higher fees to finance such improvements. For example, the astonishingly low average of two books per classroom could be doubled for a 10 per cent incr…
Scale economies and input price elasticities in microfinance institutions
2013
Author's version of an article in the journal: Journal of Banking & Finance. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2012.08.004 We evaluate the efficiency of microfinance institutions (MFIs) using a structural approach which also captures these institutions' outreach and sustainability objectives. We estimate economies of scale and input price elasticities for lending-only and deposit-mobilizing MFIs using a large sample of high-quality panel data. The results confirm conjectures that improvements in efficiency can come from the growth or consolidations of MFIs, as we find substantial increasing returns to scale for all but profitability-focused deposit-m…
Trade Associations: Why Not Cartels?
2021
First published: 30 September 2020 The relevance of special interests lobbying in modern democracies can hardly be questioned. But if large trade associations can overcome the free riding problem and form effective lobbies, why do they not also threaten market competition by forming equally effective cartels? We argue that the key to understanding the difference lies in supply elasticity. The group discipline which works in the case of lobbying can be effective in sustaining a cartel only if increasing output is sufficiently costly ‐ otherwise the incentive to deviate is too great. The theory helps organizing a number of stylized facts within a common framework. This article has been accept…
Competition and inflation differentials in EMU
2008
In a monetary union, inflation rate differentials may be substantial over the business cycle. This paper parameterizes a two-country monetary union in which different economic structures in the two countries generate temporary inflation differentials. Cross-country differences are introduced in (i) the elasticity of demand in the goods markets, which cause producers to discriminate prices, (ii) the degree of price inertia and (iii) the degree of openness or preference for foreign goods in consumption. The model is calibrated to reproduce two average large EMU countries and it is able to generate such inflation differentials. We find the mechanism of price discrimination quantitatively more …
Entry and exit in a vertically differentiated industry
2011
This paper presents a duopoly model of firm rivalry in a vertically differentiated industry when market dynamics is explicitly accounted for. It shows how the interplay between demand (degree of product differentiation, demand elasticity) and cost (fixed and quality costs) factors determine firms’ relative strength when quality is irreversible. The main strategic choices are product quality, price and the timing of entry and exit. Further, firms incur sunk quality costs at time of entry and operating fixed costs of maintaining quality. Although the low quality firm may outlast its rival in the declining phase, both firms wish to be the “quality leader”.
Price discrimination and market power in export markets: The case of the ceramic tile industry.
2005
This paper combines the pricing-to-market equation and the residual demand elasticity equation to measure the extent of competition in the export markets of ceramic tiles, which has been dominated by Italian and Spanish producers since the late eighties. The findings show that the tile exporters enjoyed substantial market power over the period 1988-1998, and limited evidence that the export market has become more competitive over time.
Group Buying of Competing Retailers
2010
Under group buying, quantity discounts are offered based on the buyers' aggregated purchasing quantity, instead of individual quantities. As the price decreases with the total quantity, buyers receive lower prices than they otherwise would be able to obtain individually. Previous studies on group buying focus on the benefit buyers receive in reduced acquisition costs or enhanced bargaining power. In this paper, we show that buyers can instead get hurt from such cooperation. Specifically, we consider a two-level distribution channel with a single manufacturer and two retailers who compete for end customers. We show that, under linear demand curves, group buying is always preferable for symme…
Excessive vs. insufficient entry in spatial models: When product design and market size matter
2020
Abstract Under spatial product differentiation and product design, we identify conditions for either excessive or insufficient firm entry. We extend previous settings, based on the Salop circular model, to analyze the combined role of positive demand elasticity and endogenous targeted product design. First, we show that, given the number of firms, the equilibrium level of targeted design is either excessive or insufficient, depending on demand elasticity. Second, with free entry, we show that the degree of targeted product design increases with the relative market size and decreases with demand elasticity. Based on these effects, the interplay between demand elasticity and market size yield…
Disentangling Housing Supply to Shift towards Smart Cities: Analysing Theoretical and Empirical Studies
2022
The search for a pleasant home has concerned people ever since. Paradoxically, people are facing strong difficulties in finding a decent place to settle their lives in cities. As such, the housing market regained momentum in connection with the development of Smart Cities, where life quality of residents is strongly emphasized. Well-being in the metropolis is affected by a wide variety of factors with housing supply being among the most important, hence stirred by financing costs, construction costs, vacancy rate, sales delay, inflation rate, housing stock, price of agricultural land, and regulation. The present article reviews empirical studies on housing supply for a better understanding …
Elasticity and revenue: do we need a reappraisal?
2002
The relationship between price-elasticity of demand, price variations and total revenue changes might be considered as one of the most widely accepted results arising from consumer theory. Recently, however, this relationship has been put under suspicion on the basis of a misinterpretation of what economists have in mind when writing about it. In this paper we try to clarify concepts incorporating new elements into discussion with the aim of reaffirming the validity of this relationship.