In this paper we use sharp changes in gasoline prices to estimate the impact that short run changes in disposable income have on measures of consumer price sensitivity at the grocery store. We use weekly store level scanner data from 180 West Coast grocery stores for products (UPCs) in frequently purchased food categories. We find evidence that consumers adjust to higher gasoline prices by substituting within a category towards products that are on sale (i.e., on promotion): the fraction of purchases from sale items increases significantly with gasoline prices. The effect is generally stronger at stores serving lower income families. Additionally, we find that the quantity weighted price paid for products decreases when gasoline prices increase; consumers are able to save money on groceries by shifting purchases towards promotional items.

Using Scanner Data for Food Policy Research is a practitioners' guide to using and interpreting scanner data obtained from stores and households in policy research. It provides practical advice for using the data and interpreting their results. It helps the reader address key methodological issues such as aggregation, constructing price indices, and matching the data to nutrient values. It demonstrates some of the key econometric and statistical applications of the data, including estimating demand systems for policy simulation, analyzing effects of food access on food choices, and conducting cost-benefit analysis of food policies. This guide is intended for early-career researchers, particularly those working with scanner data in agricultural and food economics, nutrition, and public health contexts. - Describe different types of scanner data, the types of information available in the data, and the vendors that offer these data - Describe food-label data that can be appended to scanner data - Identify key questions that researchers should consider when acquiring scanner and label data for food policy research - Demonstrate how to use scanner data using tools from econometric and statistical analyses, including the limitations in interpreting results using the data - Describe and resolve key methodological issues related to using the data to facilitate more rapid analyses - Provide an overview of published literature as background for designing new studies - Demonstrate key applications of the data for food policy research

This Handbook explores and critically examines current research in economics and marketing science on key issues in retailing and distribution. Providing a rich perspective for the discussion of public policy, contributions from several disciplines and continents range from the history of chains and the impact of multinational retailers on international trade patterns to US merger policy in the retail context, the rise of the Internet, and consumer-to-consumer sales. The chapters address methodological issues such as the structural estimation of entry games between retailers, productivity measurement when both inputs and output are not fully observable, and demand estimation with variable assortment. Policy issues explored include mergers, zoning, and the regulation of buyer power, while other chapters address some of the recent exciting developments in technology, retail formats, and data availability. The book goes on to study the changes in online retailing and ‘big data’, and to examine competition in specific retail sectors including gasoline stations, automobile dealerships, supermarkets, and ‘big box’ retail. This state-of-the-art Handbook is an essential reference for students and academics of economics and marketing science, and offers an outsider’s perspective to specialists in operations research, data analytics, geography, and sociology.

Handbook of the Economics of Marketing, Volume One: Marketing and Economics mixes empirical work in industrial organization with quantitative marketing tools, presenting tactics that help researchers tackle problems with a balance of intuition and skepticism. It offers critical perspectives on theoretical work within economics, delivering a comprehensive, critical, up-to-date, and accessible review of the field that has always been missing. This literature summary of research at the intersection of economics and marketing is written by, and for, economists, and the book's authors share a belief in analytical and integrated approaches to marketing, emphasizing data-driven, result-oriented, pragmatic strategies. - Helps academic and non-academic economists understand recent, rapid changes in the economics of marketing - Designed for economists already convinced of the benefits of applying economics tools to marketing - Written for those who wish to become quickly acquainted with the integration of marketing and economics

EBOOK: Economics, 12e

The consumer price index (CPI) measures the rate at which prices of consumer goods and services change over time. It is used as a key indicator of economic performance, as well as in the setting of monetary and socio-economic policy such as indexation of wages and social security benefits, purchasing power parities and inflation measures. This manual contains methodological guidelines for statistical offices and other agencies responsible for constructing and calculating CPIs, and also examines underlying economic and statistical concepts involved. Topics covered include: expenditure weights, sampling, price collection, quality adjustment, sampling, price indices calculations, errors and bias, organisation and management, dissemination, index number theory, durables and user costs.