Regulatory Restrictions on Vertical Integration and Control: The Competitive Impact of Gasoline Divorcement Policies Contributor(s): Federal Trade Commission (Author) |
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ISBN: 1502365553 ISBN-13: 9781502365552 Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform OUR PRICE: $14.20 Product Type: Paperback Published: September 2014 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Business & Economics | Reference - General |
Physical Information: 0.06" H x 8.5" W x 11.02" (0.21 lbs) 30 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Gasoline "divorcement" regulations restrict the integration of gasoline refiners and retailers. Theoretically, vertical integration can harm competition, making it possible that divorcement policies could increase welfare; alternatively, these policies may reduce welfare by sacrificing efficiencies. This book attempts to differentiate between these possibilities by estimating a reduced form equation for the real retail price of unleaded regular gasoline. I find that divorcement regulations raise the price of gasoline by about 2.7 per gallon, reducing consumers' surplus by over $100 million annually. This finding suggests that current proposals to further separate gasoline retailing from refining will be harmful to gasoline consumers. |