Resale regulations in online marketplaces during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

AbstractIn the early stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic, masks and alcohol sanitizers were hoarded and resold in online markets. In Japan, restrictions were imposed on such resale. This paper examines changes in the behavior of economic agents and their surplus before and after the resale restrictions in the online market. We collected data on the auctions and fixed‐price sales of anhydrous ethanol before and after the resale regulation. Using these estimated parameters, we evaluated the changes in the surpluses per transaction. We found that, on average, the regulation reduced the consumer surplus and the producer surplus by about JPY 160 and JPY 1500, respectively.