FREE ESSAY ON PRICE DISCRIMINATION

PRICE DISCRIMINATION

Define, discuss, and account for the existence of price discrimination. Compare and
exemplify the first, second, and third degrees of such discrimination.
Overview
Price discrimination is the practice of setting different pricing formulas in different
virtual markets, while still maintaining the same product throughout. The prices are
based upon the price elasticity of demand in each given market. In more practical terms,
that means that during "Ladies Night" at M.P. O'Reilly's, it costs more for me to have a
beer than if I were a female simply because this particular saloon sees fit to charge
members of the female species less as a means to draw more such females to the
establishment on such a night. 
Price discrimination is rampant in many areas of the commercial and business world. Movie
theatres, magazines, computer software companies, and thousands of other entities have
discounted prices for students, children, or the elderly. One important note, though, is
that price discrimination is only present when the exact same product is sold to
different people for different prices. First class vs. coach in an airline (though
sometimes just differing in how many free drinks you can get) is not an example of price
discrimination because the two tickets, though comparable, are not identical.
Price discrimination is based upon the economic premise and practice of marginal
analysis. This conceptualization deals specifically with the differences in revenue and
costs as choices and/or decisions are made. A good example is illustrated in the textbook
by the Hartford Shoe Company model. The most important portion of the model, however, is
on page 201. Here, it is calculated that if the company raises the prices of the shoes
from $60 to $65, their revenue and number of shoes sold will shrink...but their actual
profit margin will raise slightly due to that higher profit margin more than just
offsetting in the loss in sales. Profit maximization is achieved neither where the number
of products sold is the highest, nor where the price is the highest.
Profitability
Price discrimination is only profitable if and when the given target groups' price
elasticity of demand differs to the point where the separate prices yield to profit
maximization for each given group in question (where marginal revenue equals marginal
cost). Groups that are more sensitive to prices, students and senior citizens for
example, have a lower price elasticity of demand and are thus the ones that are often
charges the lower prices for the identical goods or services. 
The key to price discrimination and utilizing it to fully compliment other economic
practices, ultimately achieving the total profit maximization, is the ability to
effectively and efficiently collect, analyze, and act upon data gathered about the
different groups. First of all, the groups must be accurately identified and the
differences between groups must be discerned ahead of time. Children, genders, and senior
citizens are easily singled-out by appearance, while military personnel, college
students, and other groups must carry some sort of identification. Firms typically will
advertise the highest prices in publications, and then offer discounts to qualified
groups. 
The three basic conditions for price discrimination to be effective are as follows: 
1) Consumers can be divided into and identified as groups with different elasticities of
demand.
2) The firm can easily and accurately identify each customer.
3) There is not a significant resale market for the good in question.
First Degree Price Discrimination
The premise behind the practice of first degree price discrimination is that the firm has
enough accurate information about the end consumer that products can be sold each time
for the maximum amount that the consumer is willing to pay. The two most prevalent
examples of first-degree price discrimination are called "price skimming" and
"all-or-none offers", both of which are described below.
Skimming here refers to the demand function, as firms take the top of the demand of a
given good to maximize profits on the per diem sale. This, of course, requires that the
firm know the actual demand for the good that it produces. Furthermore, the firm must
divide its customers into distinct, independent groups based upon their respective
demands for the good. The firm wants to first sell to the group who will pay the highest
price for the new product. It then reduces the cost slightly and sells to another group
with only slightly less demand for the good. This process is replicated on numerous
occasions until the marginal revenue dips to equal marginal cost. 
While this example may seem similar to other examples of price discrimination, it should
be noted that the most significant difference here is that there are a virtually
limitless number of possible prices that, charged sequentially, will yield profit
maximization over the long haul. The firm must, of course, be on the ball and must make
constant reassessments of the demand and thus, the price for the good at any given time
after the initial price is set and a number of units are sold. 
Firms practicing price skimming, then, will generally start their pricing schedules where
the demand schedule has its vertical intercept. From there, as demand at any given price
shrinks, the firm readjusts the price of the good to spur more sales. As before, the firm
maximizes profits where the marginal revenue is equal to marginal cost. The firm will not
continue to sell the good below this threshold. The equality here is unlike a scenario
where a single profit-maximizing price scheme is practiced.
The trick to price skimming is that the consumers do not become accustomed to the process
and thus "wait" for the prices to drop, hence skewing the demand uncharacteristically.
Customers may be upset about paying a higher price initially, and this may lead to the
same customer not becoming a return customer next time, or simply that the customer who
bought at a high price this time will hold off on a purchase next time, anticipating a
price reduction. Price skimming is no longer effective if the consumers have been
conditioned to the process.
The other example of first-degree price discrimination is the "all-or-none" model. This
means that the firm will set a price for a given bundle of goods, and no matter what
portion of the goods you desire, you pay the same price as if you were to purchase all of
them. The diamond industry is a fine example of this, often selling less-than-perfect
supplemental gems along with perfect gems in order to move the less-desirable
merchandise. The other example, of leasing motion picture reels, is perhaps more easily
associated with the general public. No one I knew would have ever wanted to see "Ernest
Saves Christmas", while "The Hunt For Red October" was quite a good flick.
By bundling goods together in a veritable "grab bag", firms can rid themselves of
merchandise that would in all likelihood not sell otherwise, or at least not for the same
price. Likewise, firms can sell larger-than-necessary volume sets of certain items, even
though no one in his or her right mind would willingly purchase such large quantities of
certain goods (e.g. 10-packs of household 3-in-1 oil). This format of "moving"
merchandise in a way where the amount or items purchased aren't necessarily discretionary
is especially popular at auctions.
Second Degree Price Discrimination
A tiered form of price discrimination, second degree is the practice of selling
incremental amounts of a good for incremental prices. The first 12 pairs of shoes are
$80, the next 12 pair are $72, and so on. The customers, like in discrimination of the
3rd degree, are grouped together in the corresponding tiers so to speak, and since the
tiers all pay the same price, the marginal revenue is constant within each tier and its
purchases. 
Like 3rd degree price discrimination, the 2nd degree often allows the firm to sell more
quantity that they would ordinarily. The catsup example is a fine one, making prices
variable due to the size of a given container of goods. This example also illustrates how
the consumers must be self-selective, based upon their lifestyle and/or preferences.
Customers with the higher demand prices will tend to buy smaller quantities at higher
average unit prices, while those with lower demand prices will more often purchase the
larger quantities at a lower unit cost.
Second degree price discrimination generally leads to a situation where more quantity per
unit is sold. Sam's Club is the 2nd degree price discrimination heaven. Mr. Walton's
little warehouses across the land plainly aim for a consumer that is willing to buy more
at a lower price per unit. While the price may, in fact, be a bit lower, it still
troubles me to see people purchasing 256 ounces of Ivory dish washing detergent at a
single time.
Finally, 2nd degree price discrimination yields itself well to a process called "product
bundling". This should not be considered the same as the "Ernest Saves Christmas" and
"Hunt For Red October" scenario, but instead where tow copies of the same film (to show
it on two screens) is far less than just leasing two copies of the same film reel. 
Product bundling is prevalent in the personal computer industry. System packages are
bundled together with the most popular software and hardware alike, and this reduces
possible haggling over certain items. No one can argue about the value of not including a
CD-ROM or video card.
Third Degree Price Discrimination
Third degree price discrimination deals with separating customers into distinct groups
based upon their difference in elasticity of demand. Based upon this elasticity, you then
charge a higher price to the group whose demand is less elastic. 
Marginal revenue is the change in the total revenue that is the result of a small change
in the sales of the good in question. Therefore, price must, too, have changed slightly.
The model in the book (Hartford Shoe Company student discounts) illustrates this
phenomenon extremely well. When the non-student group of consumers experiences a price
increase of $5, this group purchases 625 fewer pairs of shoes. Interpolation yields the
concept that for every $1 that the price increases, sales will fall by 125 units.
Likewise, when the student price for the shoes in question falls $5, 625 additional pairs
of shoes will be sold. This again can be interpolated to mean that every dollar less the
shoes are priced, 125 more units will be sold. 
Thus, a change of just $1 makes students and non-students alike change their purchasing
preferences by 125 pairs of shoes. We can use this observation to generate the ideal
price and sales figures necessary to achieve the ideal situation of:
Marginal Cost = Marginal Revenue
We know that marginal revenue is the change in the total revenue divided by the change in
sales. When the price of shoes is reduced by $1, total revenue will increase $2,625 as
sales again increase by 125. The marginal revenue associated with such a price reduction
is $21 (2625/125) and, since this marginal revenue is greater than the marginal cost
($20), lowering the price from $66 to $65 actually does increase profits for the Hartford
Shoe Company. However, as illustrated in the text, if the price is originally $65, and
the price is lowered to $64, then the marginal revenue from this move would only be $19.
Due to the fact that this marginal revenue is less than the marginal cost (still $20),
profits would actually take a small hit if this price reduction was carried out.
Opportunity Cost
Price discrimination is based upon the most significant of all economic concepts:
opportunity cost. For example, American Airlines may offer college students a fare from
Saint Louis to Chicago for $149 round-trip, while "business class" fares run
significantly higher, say $279 for example. The business traveler, in all likelihood, is
more likely to be willing to pay the higher fare because he or she is going to be working
for a client in Chicago and will be paid $100 per hour while there. The college student
does not have the luxury of having any extra money (he or she goes to Wash U.), and thus
cannot justify paying the higher rate to travel to Chicago for his or her fall break. 
Opportunity cost is the most intrinsic measure of justification for reallocation of any
of a person's given resources...including (but not limited to) time, money, and talent.
People often say that they are "richer in time than in money", but in fact seldom
consider the fact that by choosing not to work, they are actually "paying" for their
recreation time. Such is the case with price discrimination. If you are a Washington
University student and you go to the Esquire Theatre on a Friday night to see the latest
big-budget, no-plot Hollywood hit, you are inherently less likely to study your Organic
Chemistry. This could, in turn, lead to a lower grade in the class. The lower grade could
lead to acceptance to a less-respected graduate program, and such could lead to a job
with lower pay. I realize that most of this is highly hypothetical, but the bottom line
is always that, no matter what you're doing, you could be doing something else.
Opportunity cost should be a consideration every time someone chooses to sleep in and
miss class, or every time that someone takes off of work for a day. Vacation, after all,
is the most prevalent exercise and exemplification of someone making a judgment regarding
opportunity cost.
Conclusion
Price discrimination is a significant and influential practice on the market in the
modern economic world. It aids in a firm's profit maximization scheme, it allows certain
consumers with more-scarce resources the opportunity purchase goods or services that
would otherwise be attainable, and it aids firms in balancing what is and is not sold.
Devoid of an audience and consumer base alert to it, price discrimination is an effective
means by which a firm can sell a higher quantity of goods, make a higher profit margin on
the goods it does sell, and build a broader consumer base due to differing price
elasticity of demand for given goods and services. Price discrimination ultimately
equalizes price and value for both the consumer and the firm, creating a more ideal
situation for both entities in terms of preference and opportunity cost.