Estimates from a structural model of consumer behavior and firm conduct are used to decompose the extent to which quantity discounts for paper towels are consistent with second degree price discrimination as opposed to cost differences across sizes. Counterfactual exercises assuming that firms offer only one package size or charge uniform prices across sizes indicate that competition in the mul...

Many consumers are keenly aware of gasoline prices, and consumer responses to gasoline prices have been well studied. In this paper, by contrast, we investigate how gasoline prices affect the automobile industry: manufacturers and dealerships. We estimate how changes in gasoline prices affect equilibrium prices and sales of both new and used vehicles of different fuel economies. We investigate ...

The Structuralist Approach: According to this view, inflation is seen to arise out of structural impediments to the expansion of production in certain crucial sectors of a developing economy. An increase in investment is expected to lead to an increase in demand of consumer goods. This increase in demand for consumer goods leads to an increase in prices, given inelastic supply. Prices rise to a...

I n the United States, there are two broad indexes of consumer prices: the consumer price index, or CPI, and the chain price index for personal consumption expenditures, or PCEPI. Because the indexes are similar in many respects, the inflation rates measured with them often move in parallel. There are, however, some important differences, which, at times, can lead to large gaps between CPI and ...