The authors test and confirm that retail gasoline prices respond more quickly to increases than to decreases in crude oil prices. Among the possible sources of this asymmetry are production/inventory adjustment lags and market power of some sellers. By analyzing price transmission at different...

In many industries, the largest firms are most successful in entering and competing in individual markets or submarkets. While this success is often attributed to cost or quality differences, it may also reflect reputation advantages or marketing strategies that benefit firms selling a wider...

Some economists and policy makers have suggested that market allocation of scarce operating licenses, broadcasti ng licenses, and airport "slots," for instance, would lead to their efficient use. This paper demonstrates that a competitive market all ocation of operating licenses, whether...