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American Economic Journal: Economic Policy

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AEJ: Policy - Previous Issues

     Vol. 1, Issue: 2 - August 2009
     Vol. 1, Issue: 1 - February 2009
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AEJ: Policy - August 2009

Articles in this Issue
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Front Matter (pp. i - ii)

Crowded Colleges and College Crowd-Out: The Impact of Public Subsidies on the Two-Year College Market (pp. 1 - 30)

Is the Taxable Income Elasticity Sufficient to Calculate Deadweight Loss? The Implications of Evasion and Avoidance (pp. 31 - 52)

Tax Sensitivity and Home State Preferences in Internet Purchasing (pp. 53 - 71)

Incomplete Environmental Regulation, Imperfect Competition, and Emissions Leakage (pp. 72 - 112)

How Do Gasoline Prices Affect Fleet Fuel Economy? (pp. 113 - 37)

The Divergence of Legal Procedures (pp. 138 - 62)

Heterogeneity in Intra-monthly Consumption Patterns, Self-Control, and Savings at Retirement (pp. 163 - 89)

The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness (pp. 190 - 225)

JEL Indexes (Members Only)

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy

Vol. 1, No. 2, August 2009

Tax Sensitivity and Home State Preferences in Internet Purchasing Glenn Ellison and Sara Fisher Ellison
Article Citation
Ellison, Glenn, and Sara Fisher Ellison. 2009. "Tax Sensitivity and Home State Preferences in Internet Purchasing." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 1(2): 53–71.
DOI:10.1257/pol.1.2.53
Abstract
Data on memory modules sales are used to explore aspects of e-retail demand. Aggregate sales are examined in state-level regressions. Discrete choice techniques are used to examine (incomplete) hourly sales data from a price comparison site. We find a strong relationship between e-retail sales to a given state and sales tax rates that apply to purchases from offline retailers, suggesting substantial online-offline substitution and the importance of tax avoidance motives. Geography matters in two ways: consumers prefer purchasing from firms in nearby states and appear to have a separate preference for buying from in-state firms. (JEL D12, H25, H71, L81)

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Authors

Ellison, Glenn (MIT)
Ellison, Sara Fisher (MIT)

JEL Classifications

D12: Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
H25: Business Taxes and Subsidies including sales and value-added (VAT)
H71: State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
L81: Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce