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Data and Code for: ``Hub-and-spoke cartels: Theory and evidence from the grocery industry''

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Robert Clark, Queen's University; Ig Horstmann, University of Toronto; Jean-Francois Houde, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
data_programs (final)			12/04/2023 04:22:PM

Project Citation:

Clark, Robert, Horstmann, Ig, and Houde, Jean-Francois. Data and Code for: ``Hub-and-spoke cartels: Theory and evidence from the grocery industry’’. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2024. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-02-14. https://doi.org/10.3886/E193126V1

Project Description

Summary:

Numerous recently uncovered cartels operated along the supply chain, with firms at one end facilitating collusion at the other -- hub-and-spoke arrangements. These cartels are hard to rationalize because they induce double marginalization and higher costs. We examine Canada's alleged bread cartel and provide the first comprehensive analysis of hub-and-spoke collusion. Using court documents and pricing data we make three contributions: i) we show that collusion was effective, increasing inflation by about 50%, (ii) we provide evidence that collusion existed at both ends of the supply chain, and iii) we develop a model explaining why this form of collusion arose.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: Antitrust; Vertical restraints; Hub-and-spoke collusion; Food inflation; Grocery industry

JEL Classification:
D43 Market Structure, Pricing, and Design: Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection

Geographic Coverage: Canada

Time Period(s): 1/1/1995 – 12/31/2018

Collection Date(s): 1/1/1995 – 12/31/2018

Universe:

Canadian consumers, Grocery store operating in Canada, Bread distributors operating in Canada

Data Type(s): administrative records data; aggregate data

Methodology

Sampling:

The data collection includes time-series national price index for the "Bread, rolls, and buns subcategory" category used in the calculation of the Canadian Consumer Price Index between 1995 and 2018.

The data collection includes a cross-sectional time-series of aggregate Consumer Price Index for six product categories between 1995 and 2018.

The data collection includes a pooled cross-sectional time-series of grocery store and item-level prices covering 6 categories over a period of 9 years (2009-2018). The data is collected by Statistics Canada to construct the Canadian Consumer Price Index.

The data collection include a cross-section of grocery store locations in 2014.

resulting in 300 observations.

Data Source: INFOGROUP “Market research report – Grocery stores”, 2014.
Statistics Canada. “CDER-CPI Research store-level data set.” , 2009-2018
Statistics Canada. "Monthly average retail prices for food and other selected products.” , 1995-2018
Statistics Canada. "Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted.”, 1995-2018
Statistics Canada. "Industrial Product Price Index, by product, monthly.” 1995-2018
US BLS “Average Price: Bread, White, Pan (Cost per Pound/453.6 Grams) in U.S. City Average" 1995-2018

Collection Mode(s): mixed mode

Scales: CPI index : 2002=100
CDER-CPI: Canadian dollars

Weights: unweighted.

Unit(s) of Observation: Product category + Month + year, Item Anonymous grocery store ID Month Year

Geographic Unit: Canada

Related Publications

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Published Versions

V2 [2024-05-24]

V1 [2024-02-14]

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DDI 2.5

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