Gasoline Price Dispersion and Consumer Search: Evidence from a Natural Experiment
利用炼油厂火灾导致汽油价格周期停止的外生冲击，研究价格离散变化如何影响消费者搜寻行为，发现消费者搜寻对价格离散有显著反应。
The vast majority of empirical studies examining the link between consumer search and price dispersion focus on how changes in consumer search impact price dispersion. This article does the reverse—it examines how a shock to price dispersion impacts consumer search. A direct measure of search is used and an exogenous shock to price dispersion is found in a refinery fire that caused decades‐old retail gasoline price cycles, and the nonlinear high‐frequency price dispersion pattern generated by them, to stop. Identifying effects from this shock, the results show a substantial response of consumer search to changes in price dispersion.