Tax Sensitivity and Home State Preferences in Internet Purchasing

Data on memory modules sales are used to explore aspects of e-retail demand. Aggregate sales are examined in state-level regressions. Discrete choice techniques are used to examine (incomplete) hourly sales data from a price comparison site. We find a strong relationship between e-retail sales to a...

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Main Authors: Ellison, Glenn, Ellison, Sara F.
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: American Economic Association 2012
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/73030
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3164-0855
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3854-7397
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author Ellison, Glenn
Ellison, Sara F.
author2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics
author_facet Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics
Ellison, Glenn
Ellison, Sara F.
author_sort Ellison, Glenn
collection MIT
description Data on memory modules sales are used to explore aspects of e-retail demand. Aggregate sales are examined in state-level regressions. Discrete choice techniques are used to examine (incomplete) hourly sales data from a price comparison site. We find a strong relationship between e-retail sales to a given state and sales tax rates that apply to purchases from offline retailers, suggesting substantial online-offline substitution and the importance of tax avoidance motives. Geography matters in two ways: consumers prefer purchasing from firms in nearby states and appear to have a separate preference for buying from in-state firms.
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spelling mit-1721.1/730302022-09-30T20:57:45Z Tax Sensitivity and Home State Preferences in Internet Purchasing Ellison, Glenn Ellison, Sara F. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics Ellison, Glenn Ellison, Glenn Ellison, Sara F. Data on memory modules sales are used to explore aspects of e-retail demand. Aggregate sales are examined in state-level regressions. Discrete choice techniques are used to examine (incomplete) hourly sales data from a price comparison site. We find a strong relationship between e-retail sales to a given state and sales tax rates that apply to purchases from offline retailers, suggesting substantial online-offline substitution and the importance of tax avoidance motives. Geography matters in two ways: consumers prefer purchasing from firms in nearby states and appear to have a separate preference for buying from in-state firms. Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (Stanford, Calif.) Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, N.J.) Toulouse Network for Information Technology National Science Foundation (U.S.) (SES-0219205) National Science Foundation (U.S.) (SES-0550897) 2012-09-17T20:43:18Z 2012-09-17T20:43:18Z 2009-08 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1945-774X 1945-7731 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/73030 Ellison, Glenn, and Sara Fisher Ellison. "Tax Sensitivity and Home State Preferences in Internet Purchasing." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 1(2)(2009): 53–71. © 2009 The American Economic Association. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3164-0855 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3854-7397 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/pol.1.2.53 American Economic Journal: Economic Policy Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf American Economic Association American Economic Association
spellingShingle Ellison, Glenn
Ellison, Sara F.
Tax Sensitivity and Home State Preferences in Internet Purchasing
title Tax Sensitivity and Home State Preferences in Internet Purchasing
title_full Tax Sensitivity and Home State Preferences in Internet Purchasing
title_fullStr Tax Sensitivity and Home State Preferences in Internet Purchasing
title_full_unstemmed Tax Sensitivity and Home State Preferences in Internet Purchasing
title_short Tax Sensitivity and Home State Preferences in Internet Purchasing
title_sort tax sensitivity and home state preferences in internet purchasing
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/73030
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3164-0855
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3854-7397
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