The Impact of Retail E-Commerce on Relative Prices and Consumer Welfare

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Jo, Yoon; Matsumura, Misaki; Weinstein, David E.
• 署名单位: Texas A&M University System; Texas A&M University College Station; Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited; Columbia University; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01272
• 发表日期: 2024-11
• 页码: 1675-1689
• 关键词: information frictions; market performance; CONVERGENCE; internet; online; STATES; LAW

摘要

This paper examines the impact of retail e-commerce on pricing behavior and welfare. Using Japanese data, we find that e-commerce lowered relative inflation rates for goods sold intensively online. We use long time series and historical catalog sales as an instrument for e-commerce sales intensity. The entry of e-commerce firms raised the rate of intercity price convergence in physical stores for goods sold intensively online, but not for other goods, which suggests e-commerce enhances price arbitrage. We estimate that e-commerce lowered variety-adjusted prices on average by 0.9% between 1996 and 2014, and more in cities with highly educated populations.