Pregledni rad
https://doi.org/10.22598/zefzg.2026.1.163
Government-imposed price ceilings and retail market adjustment in grocery markets
Maja Bogović
; Croatian chamber of economy, Zagreb, Croatia
Ružica Brečić
; Faculty of Economics and Business, University in Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
*
Zrinka Lukač
; Faculty of Economics and Business, University in Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
* Dopisni autor.
Sažetak
This paper examines how a selective price-cap government intervention was associated with changes in observed retail prices, sales volumes, and revenues in the selected staple food categories. Using monthly SKU-level retail data from January 2020 to December 2025, we analyze selected products that were subject to government-protected prices in Croatia. The results show heterogeneous post-intervention patterns across different product groups. Flour shows the clearest decrease in observed average unit prices and the strongest increase in sales volumes, while UHT milk shows more limited adjustment and sunflower oil shows a price decrease without volume increase. These findings suggest that the effects of price ceilings depend on the effective bindingness of the cap and on category-specific demand conditions. The paper contributes to research on retail pricing and public policy by showing that formally uniform price-cap measures can generate uneven market responses across regulated grocery categories.
Ključne riječi
price caps; food inflation; retail markets; regulated products
Hrčak ID:
349895
URI
Datum izdavanja:
28.7.2026.
Posjeta: 0 *