EMPIRICAL TESTS OF THE ARGUMENT THAT CONSUMERS VALUE STABLE RETAIL MILK PRICES

Existing policy allows interstate dairy compacts if they serve a compelling public interest. Compact supporters argue consumers benefit from retail price stability, but no supporting evidence was found. Milk demand systems were estimated using scanner data and four measures of price volatility. Price volatility defined as forecast errors influenced demand, but did not systematically depress demand. Response was more elastic to unanticipated than anticipated price changes, possibly explaining the higher elasticities often observed in scanner data studies.