Local gasoline industry : a study of the relationship between capacity constraints and gasoline prices in Singapore.

Increasing attention has been paid to gasoline prices due to the growing affluent population of car owners in Singapore. Academic literatures have attributed the fluctuations in gasoline prices to location and pricing decisions of gasoline firms. However, firms in Singapore are not able to maximize...

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Main Authors: Chen, Janelle Jinxian., Foo, Gina Ngee Joon., Soh, Edwin Yong Ti.
Other Authors: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Format: Final Year Project (FYP)
Language:English
Published: 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10356/52116
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author Chen, Janelle Jinxian.
Foo, Gina Ngee Joon.
Soh, Edwin Yong Ti.
author2 School of Humanities and Social Sciences
author_facet School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Chen, Janelle Jinxian.
Foo, Gina Ngee Joon.
Soh, Edwin Yong Ti.
author_sort Chen, Janelle Jinxian.
collection NTU
description Increasing attention has been paid to gasoline prices due to the growing affluent population of car owners in Singapore. Academic literatures have attributed the fluctuations in gasoline prices to location and pricing decisions of gasoline firms. However, firms in Singapore are not able to maximize profits by engaging in spatial differentiation as an expansion in operation (increasing number of stations) is only possible if the government allocates more land sites to gasoline firms. This has led to the notion of capacity constraints, which is an important consideration in pricing decisions of gasoline. Based on observations of monthly gasoline prices from November 2008 to March 2013, we aim to establish a relationship between capacity constraints and gasoline prices. Based on the results of the fixed effects model, we managed to validate the claims made by the gasoline firms in Singapore that capacity constraints are impeding price competition in the industry. In addition, we conducted an analysis of de-trended gasoline prices and suspect that there is a presence of Edgeworth cycle. Thus led to our conjecture that firms experience weak capacity constraints and low product differentiation. Hence our results concluded that there is presence of a competitive market and absence of tacit collusion in the gasoline market of Singapore. Therefore, we can discount the need for more government intervention in the industry. More importantly, the findings of this paper would serve as a good basis for future studies of gasoline prices in Singapore.
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spelling ntu-10356/521162019-12-10T12:07:26Z Local gasoline industry : a study of the relationship between capacity constraints and gasoline prices in Singapore. Chen, Janelle Jinxian. Foo, Gina Ngee Joon. Soh, Edwin Yong Ti. School of Humanities and Social Sciences Teo Gin Swee Ernie DRNTU::Humanities Increasing attention has been paid to gasoline prices due to the growing affluent population of car owners in Singapore. Academic literatures have attributed the fluctuations in gasoline prices to location and pricing decisions of gasoline firms. However, firms in Singapore are not able to maximize profits by engaging in spatial differentiation as an expansion in operation (increasing number of stations) is only possible if the government allocates more land sites to gasoline firms. This has led to the notion of capacity constraints, which is an important consideration in pricing decisions of gasoline. Based on observations of monthly gasoline prices from November 2008 to March 2013, we aim to establish a relationship between capacity constraints and gasoline prices. Based on the results of the fixed effects model, we managed to validate the claims made by the gasoline firms in Singapore that capacity constraints are impeding price competition in the industry. In addition, we conducted an analysis of de-trended gasoline prices and suspect that there is a presence of Edgeworth cycle. Thus led to our conjecture that firms experience weak capacity constraints and low product differentiation. Hence our results concluded that there is presence of a competitive market and absence of tacit collusion in the gasoline market of Singapore. Therefore, we can discount the need for more government intervention in the industry. More importantly, the findings of this paper would serve as a good basis for future studies of gasoline prices in Singapore. Bachelor of Arts 2013-04-22T08:59:17Z 2013-04-22T08:59:17Z 2013 2013 Final Year Project (FYP) http://hdl.handle.net/10356/52116 en Nanyang Technological University 59 p. application/pdf
spellingShingle DRNTU::Humanities
Chen, Janelle Jinxian.
Foo, Gina Ngee Joon.
Soh, Edwin Yong Ti.
Local gasoline industry : a study of the relationship between capacity constraints and gasoline prices in Singapore.
title Local gasoline industry : a study of the relationship between capacity constraints and gasoline prices in Singapore.
title_full Local gasoline industry : a study of the relationship between capacity constraints and gasoline prices in Singapore.
title_fullStr Local gasoline industry : a study of the relationship between capacity constraints and gasoline prices in Singapore.
title_full_unstemmed Local gasoline industry : a study of the relationship between capacity constraints and gasoline prices in Singapore.
title_short Local gasoline industry : a study of the relationship between capacity constraints and gasoline prices in Singapore.
title_sort local gasoline industry a study of the relationship between capacity constraints and gasoline prices in singapore
topic DRNTU::Humanities
url http://hdl.handle.net/10356/52116
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