Multiproduct firms and price-setting: Theory and evidence from US producer prices

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bhattarai, Saroj; Schoenle, Raphael
• 署名单位: Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE); Pennsylvania State University; Pennsylvania State University - University Park; Brandeis University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF MONETARY ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3932
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2014.05.002
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 178-192
• 关键词: Multi-product firms; Number of Goods; State-dependent pricing; US Producer prices

摘要

Using micro-data on U.S. producer prices, we establish three new facts about price setting by multi-product firms. First, firms selling more goods adjust prices more frequently but on average by smaller amounts. Moreover, their fraction of positive price changes is lower and the dispersion of price changes is higher. Second, price changes within firms are substantially synchronized, which plays a dominant role in explaining pricing dynamics. Third, firms selling more goods have greater within-firm synchronization of price changes. A model with trend inflation and firm-specific menu costs where firms are subject to idiosyncratic and aggregate shocks matches the empirical findings. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.