Explaining the Big Mac Urban‐Rural Price Gap in the United States
利用巨无霸价格数据，研究美国城乡价格均等化问题，分析通货膨胀如何影响价格差距收敛速度及关键决定因素。
ABSTRACT The Law of One Price (LOP) is a fundamental economic principle, yet its application in regional studies often excludes rural areas due to data limitations. We analyze price equalization across the US using Big Mac prices to address this gap. Our analysis focuses on three key questions: (i) Is there evidence of price equalization between urban and rural areas in the US over the short and long run? (ii) What factors drive urban‐rural price equalization? (iii) How does inflation influence the behavior of price equalization? Our findings reveal that inflation affects the speed of urban‐rural gap convergence and determines the key variables that explain the price gap.