Do Gasoline Pricing Laws Affect Prices? It Depends on the Plaintiff
نویسنده
چکیده
Do Gasoline Pricing Laws Affect Prices? It Depends on the Plaintiff Studies of the effects of the "below-cost" gasoline pricing laws that exist in several states have led to contradictory results regarding the significance and direction of price impacts at the retail level. The majority have found such laws produce higher prices because they insulate inefficient firms from competition with more efficient firms. However, some research has concluded that these laws actually lower prices, at least temporarily. This study uses monthly data at the state level from 1987 through 2006 to reconsider the price impacts of the laws by including variables that distinguish between public suits filed by state attorneys general and private suits filed by firms directly involved in retail gasoline sales. The existence of such a law in a state significantly raises retail gasoline prices but this impact is offset slightly by negative price effects of suits filed by public sector plaintiffs. Do Gasoline Pricing Laws Affect Prices? It Depends on the Plaintiff
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