The price dispersion in the European Union in the last fifteen years (1990-2005) is analysed. The analysis of price convergence is examined on aggregate and disaggregate levels. The macro approach is based on Comparative Price Level index calculated as the ratio between PPPs and exchange rate. The disaggregate analysis utilizesactual prices of 148 individual products sold in the 15 capital cities of the EU. The calculations comprise...

Information on house prices is often considered crucial when assessing developments in economy. However, in Poland for the long time house prices haven’t been tracked in an organized manner. Recent developments, most notably house price indices developed by Poland’s national bank and by the statistical office do not go back more than 10 years, therefore data series are relatively short compared to those of other macroeconomic data. In...

The price diversification is a complex phenomenon. We show that price discrimination can have both positive and negative effects. The final result depends whether it makes competition more intense. As far as legal procedure is cocerned it is recommended to focus on the effects of compan's actions rather than on the form that these actions may take. There is a need to understand and distinguish between price discrimination as the...

This paper examines price differentials in the European Union to investigate whether the European Monetary Union has lowered the degree of price dispersion in the euro zone and increased the speed of price convergence. Both euro effects are evaluated using difference-in-difference methodology. Applied to the issue of introducing a single currency, the euro effects identified are the estimated differences in price dispersion and...