Spatial variability in retail gasoline markets

Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science - Tập 3 - Trang 581-603 - 2019
Jing Xu1, Alan T. Murray1
1Department of Geography, University of California of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, USA

Tóm tắt

Retail gasoline prices continue to be of much interest to the public, with significant economic implications. Of course, pricing too has considerable influence on human behavioral patterns of movement, particularly travel. While national and state gasoline prices may vary, they are largely tied to fairly predictable factors, including the price of crude oil, weather, political stability, and refinery production capabilities, among others. However, local and regional gasoline prices can vary considerably. Capabilities for better understanding and predicting variation in gasoline retail prices are both informative and necessary, particularly with respect to spatial factors. This paper explores characteristics related to gasoline price differences across a region. Of particular interest is assessing price gouging behavior, especially the targeting of disadvantaged groups. A spatial analytic framework that incorporates exploratory spatial data analysis, remote sensing, geographic information systems and spatial statistics is proposed to investigate the impact of local market conditions on regional retail prices of gasoline.

Tài liệu tham khảo

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