Abstract
Online platforms often impose Price Parity Clauses to prevent sellers from charging lower prices on alternative sales channels. We provide quasi-experimental evidence on the full removal of Price Parity Clauses in France in 2015 for hotels listed on Booking.com. Our analysis reveals significant price decreases in the short run, but a more limited effect in the medium run. However, hotels characterized by a more complex organizational structure decreased their prices more substantially. Overall, the intervention appears to have benefited a subset of consumers using Booking.com.
JEL codes
- D40: General
- K21: Antitrust Law
- L11: Production, Pricing, and Market Structure • Size Distribution of Firms
- L42: Vertical Restraints • Resale Price Maintenance • Quantity Discounts
- L81: Retail and Wholesale Trade • e-Commerce
Reference
Andrea Mantovani, Claudio Piga, and Carlo Reggiani, “Online platform price parity clauses: Evidence from the EU Booking.com case”, European Economic Review, vol. 131, n. 103625, January 2021.
Published in
European Economic Review, vol. 131, n. 103625, January 2021