TY  - JOUR
AU  - Knetter,Michael M.
TI  - Why are Retail Prices in Japan so High?: Evidence from German Export    Prices
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 4894
PY  - 1994
Y2  - October 1994
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w4894
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w4894.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Michael M. Knetter
School of Business
University of Wisconsin, Madison
5110 Grainger Hall
975 University Avenue
Madison, WI  53706-1323
Tel: 608/262-1758
Fax: NA
E-Mail: mike.knetter@supportuw.org
M2  - featured in NBER digest on 1995-06-01
AB  - It is well documented that retail prices in Japan are higher than in other countries for similar products.  The two main competing explanations for this finding are: (1) a relatively high degree of discriminatory practices against imports and (2) relatively high distribution costs associated with getting goods to the point of final sale in Japan.  The first of these explanations implies that foreign exporters should charge higher prices on shipments to Japan than elsewhere, provided at least some of the rent associated with restrictive practices can be captured by the exporter.  For the vast majority of the 37 7-digit German export industries studied here, the data are consistent with this implication.  Prices on shipments to Japan appear to be significantly higher than prices on shipments to the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
ER  -