Skip to main content

STICERD Industrial Organisation Seminars

Algorithmic Pricing and Competition: Empirical Evidence from the German Retail Gasoline Market

Daniel Ershov (University College London)

Monday 15 May 2023 12:30 - 14:00

Many of our seminars and public events this year will continue as in person or as hybrid (online and in person) events. Please check our website listings and Twitter feed @STICERD_LSE for updates.

Unless otherwise specified, in-person seminars are open to the public. Please ensure you have informed the event contact as early as possible.

Those unable to join the seminars in-person are welcome to participate via zoom if the event is hybrid.


About this event

We provide the first empirical analysis of the relationship between algorithmic pricing (AP) and competition by studying the impact of adoption in Germany's retail gasoline market, where software became widely available in 2017. Because adoption dates are unknown, we identify adopting stations by testing for structural breaks in AP markers, finding most breaks to be around the time of widespread AP introduction. Because station adoption is endogenous, we instrument using headquarters adoption. Adoption increases margins, but only for non-monopoly stations. In duopoly stations, margins increase only if both stations adopt, suggesting that AP has a significant effect on competition.

Industrial Organisation seminars are held on Mondays in term time at 16:00-17:30, in person in SAL 3.05, unless specified otherwise.

Seminar organiser: Alessandro Gavazza.

For further information please contact Sadia Ali: s.ali43@lse.ac.uk.

Please use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe to the Industrial Organisation seminars mailing list (industry).