Vertical Price Transmission in Local Rice Markets in Côte d’Ivoire: Are Consumers Really Right?

This paper analyses vertical relationships between wholesale and retail prices in three local rice markets in Côte d’Ivoire. The aim of the paper is to ascertain whether the popular complaint of consumers about the asymmetric price transmission holds true. Our empirical analysis makes use of threshold cointegration and error correction models and monthly data for the period 1990-1999. We found that wholesale and retail prices are cointegrated and increases in wholesale prices are passed on to retail prices more quickly than decreases.