Knowledge that Transforms

The authors study dispersion in the prices an airline charges to different passengers on the same route. This variation in fares is substantial: the expected absolute difference in fares between two passengers on a route is 36 percent of the airline's average ticket price. The pattern of observed price dispersion cannot easily be explained by cost differences alone. Dispersion increases on routes with more competition or lower flight density, consistent with discrimination based on customers' willingness to switch to alternative airlines or flights. The authors argue that the data support models of price discrimination in monopolistically competitive markets. Copyright 1994 by University of Chicago Press.

Productive consumption adds to utility and income at the same time. The shadow price of a productive good is equal to its money price less its marginal product. As more of the good is consumed, its shadow price rises because of diminishing productivity, and the consumer's full income also rises because the marginal product is positive. This paper uses a simple method to derive the comparative statics of the demand system when shadow prices and full income are endogenous. The direction of the overall bias induced by endogenous prices and income is found to be determinate. We demonstrate that the demand for productive goods tends to be relatively unresponsive to exogenous changes in prices and income. We also show that labor supply will be relatively unresponsive to wage and unearned income if market work causes fatigue.