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Fixed costs matter even when the costs are sunk

Jurjen Kamphorst, Ewa Mendys-Kamphorst, Bastian Westbrock Orcid Logo

Economics Letters, Volume: 195, Start page: 109428

Swansea University Author: Bastian Westbrock Orcid Logo

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Abstract

How firms set prices is key to understanding markets. Standard economics dictates that the fixed costs of a firm should not affect its prices. Nonetheless, it is common practice for firms to raise their prices after a fixed costs increase. We show that firms are correct in doing so if two ubiquitous...

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Published in: Economics Letters
ISSN: 0165-1765
Published: Elsevier BV 2020
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa68313
Abstract: How firms set prices is key to understanding markets. Standard economics dictates that the fixed costs of a firm should not affect its prices. Nonetheless, it is common practice for firms to raise their prices after a fixed costs increase. We show that firms are correct in doing so if two ubiquitous conditions apply: (i) future profits increase in current sales and (ii) firms are liquidity-constrained.
Keywords: Sunk costs; Liquidity constraints; Switching costs; Pricing
College: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Start Page: 109428