Price convergence in the European Union: Within firms or composition of firms?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Mejean, Isabelle; Schwellnus, Cyrille
• 署名单位: Institut Polytechnique de Paris; Ecole Polytechnique; Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD); Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD)
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2009.02.008
• 发表日期: 2009
• 页码: 1-10
• 关键词: Price convergence; firm heterogeneity; European integration

摘要

In this paper we use data on French export prices at the disaggregated firm and product level to evaluate the effect of economic integration on price convergence. We use the European integration 'experiment' and firm-level data on export prices to distinguish between two possible margins of adjustment: At the intensive margin economic integration induces different pricing strategies within the firm, whereas at the extensive margin it affects the composition of firms with different pricing strategies. In our sample price convergence is 40 percent faster in the European Union than in an appropriately defined control group. 30 percent of this effect can be attributed to the fact that a higher share of firms with a low propensity to price discriminate serve European markets. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.