Prices and the Guideposts : The Effects of Government Persuasion on Individual Prices.

Arthur J. Alexander

Expert InsightsPublished 1970

A brief discussion of the government's economic policy during the period 1962-68 and the influence exerted on the pricing behavior of firms. From 1962 until the close of the Johnson Administration in 1968, a number of wage-price guideposts were established to moderate the rate of inflation; during this time, attempts were made to influence the pricing decisions of firms through a series of public and private confrontations. This paper describes the policy of confrontation, proposes alternative hypotheses to explain the resultant behavior of firms, and analyzes statistically those variables predicted to be associated with government success and failure in influencing firm behavior. Detailed analysis of the period from October 1965 to June 1967 suggestes a number of variables related to government effectiveness in restraining price increases, including market power, markup, vulnerability, level of public and private confrontations, advertising, and strength of demand. 31 pp. Bibliog. (KB)

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1970
  • Pages: 31
  • Document Number: P-4284

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Alexander, Arthur J., Prices and the Guideposts : The Effects of Government Persuasion on Individual Prices. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1970. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P4284.html.
BibTeX RIS

This publication is part of the RAND paper series. The paper series was a product of RAND from 1948 to 2003 that captured speeches, memorials, and derivative research, usually prepared on authors' own time and meant to be the scholarly or scientific contribution of individual authors to their professional fields. Papers were less formal than reports and did not require rigorous peer review.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.