|
| |
N° 190 |
  |
| May 2000 |
| Why Do Automobile
Prices Vary in Europe? |
Guillaume Gaulier
Séverine Haller |
|
| The European Commission has launched an assessment
of the automobile distribution system in the European market. The current regulation
of this system is set to expire in September 2002. According to the European Commissioner
for Competition this system limits competition and restricts price convergence
among Member States. Automobile producers, on the other hand, claim that taxation
is one of the main causes of observed price spreads. An econometric analysis of
data broken down by model provides new insights into these questions. It shows
that there has been no convergence of prices excluding tax, since the implementation
of the Single Market. Nevertheless, convergence is presently underway, but is
being masked by the impact of currency fluctuations. Furthermore, greatly varying
taxation across countries is an important factor leading to price dispersion. |
Abstract |
| |
|
| To visualise
the full text document, use Acrobat
Reader |
Full
text (pdf) |
| |
|
| The
Convergence of Automobile Prices in the European Union: an Empirical Analysis
for the Period 1993-1999, Working Paper n° 00-14, November 2000 |
Reference Working Paper |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
