The Heterogeneous Tax Pass-Through Under Different Vertical Relationships

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bajo-Buenestado, Raul; Borrella-Mas, Miguel Angel
• 署名单位: University of Navarra; Rice University; University of Navarra
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1093/ej/ueac007
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 1684-1708
• 关键词: MARKET POWER; empirical-evidence; exclusive contracts; gasoline; price; integration; cost; COMPETITION; state; manufacturers

摘要

A large body of literature has examined the impact of the horizontal market structure on the tax incidence on consumers. However, the extent to which the vertical market structure affects the tax pass-through-which might be particularly relevant in the presence of the double marginalisation problem-is an unexplored question. Using a confidential dataset of gas station contracts with a major Spanish refiner, in combination with their retail fuel prices and characteristics, we document that the pass-through of a tax on prices is about 38% higher in vertically integrated gas stations than in independent ones. Our estimates allow us to assess the impact on government revenue and emissions under different counterfactual market scenarios.