This article analyzes the role of suggested prices in the Dutch retail market for gasoline. Suggested prices are announced by large oil companies with the suggestion that retailers follow them. There are at least two competing rationales for the existence of suggested prices: they may either...

In this paper, I investigate the effect of the takeover of a Slovak petroleum firm on its price setting mechanism. In particular, I tested the changes in the reaction of output (fuel) price on input (dollar and crude oil) prices and competitors' prices (approximated by the reference Commodity...

This article analyzes the role of suggested prices in the Dutch retail market for gasoline. Suggested prices are announced by large oil companies with the suggestion that retailers follow them. There are at least two competing rationales for the existence of suggested prices: they may either...

We draw on a complete data-base for the Italian automotive market which allows to identify make, model and version for all the vehicles sold, including the main technical characteristics for each version. The period considered is from January 1998 to March 2002. The main result is that the...

This paper studies asymmetric price responses of individual firms, via daily retail prices of almost all gasoline stations in the Netherlands and suggested prices of the five largest oil companies over more than two years. I find that 38% of the stations respond asymmetrically to changes in the...

Using an ad-hoc survey at the firm level, we investigate the determinants of wage and price-setting practices in Czech firms, the presence and sources of wage rigidity, and reactions of firms to hypothetical shocks. Although the evidence of downward wage rigidity is not widespread, we find...

In this paper we argue that pricing is all about price changes, and that the costs of price changes are often simultaneously subtle and substantial. We discuss a framework to deal with the dynamics of changing prices. This framework incorporates customer interpretations of price changes, an...

Despite the expectations of economists that the euro changeover would have no effect on prices, I show that European consumers perceive the contrary. The data indicate that consumers based their perceptions about inflation on goods that are frequently purchased. I use this insight to develop and...

Despite the expectations of economists that the euro changeover would have no effect on prices, we show that European consumers perceive the contrary. The data indicate that consumers based their perceptions about inflation on goods that are cheaper and more frequently purchased. We use this...