Market Definition Changes the Story : Competition and Price Dispersion in the Airline Industry Revisited

We analyze the effect of competition on price dispersion in the airline industry and show that the outcome hinges on redefining the extent of a market. Using panel data from 1993 to 2013, an increase in competition has a positive effect on price dispersion in one-way markets but a negative effect in round-trip markets. This is driven by a bigger (smaller) decrease in the 10th percentile of the price distribution in the one-way (round-trip) markets. We provide suggestive evidence that airlines compete more aggressively in the lower tail of the price distribution in one-way markets due to higher markups