Explaining the Big Mac Urban‐Rural Price Gap in the United States

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21353033
AutoresFernanda Alfaro (0000-0001-9673-7143, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan USA, autor de correspondencia), Scott Loveridge (0000-0002-0665-350X, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan USA), Dusan Paredes (0000-0002-7090-5919, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan USA), Monique Skidmore (0000-0002-6396-9519, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan USA)
Año2026
Volumen66
Número1
Páginas124-139
Fecha de publicación2026-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Regional Science (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0022-4146 • E-ISSN: 1467-9787
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jors.70022
OpenAlexW4413997885
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas55

The Law of One Price (LOP) is a fundamental economic principle, yet its application in regional studies often excludes rural areas due to data limitations. We analyze price equalization across the US using Big Mac prices to address this gap. Our analysis focuses on three key questions: (i) Is there evidence of price equalization between urban and rural areas in the US over the short and long run? (ii) What factors drive urban‐rural price equalization? (iii) How does inflation influence the behavior of price equalization? Our findings reveal that inflation affects the speed of urban‐rural gap convergence and determines the key variables that explain the price gap

Business · Economics · Consumer Retail Behavior Studies · Housing Market and Economics · Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis