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The Effect of Information Salience on Product Quality: Louisville Restaurant Hygiene and Yelp.com

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  • Matthew Philip Makofske

Abstract

In June, 2013, Louisville, Kentucky, announced plans to provide restaurant health inspection scores—already available on the city’s website—for publication on Yelp.com. I find that this increased salience caused substantial hygiene improvements among independent Louisville restaurants across three different counterfactual models. Among independent Louisville restaurants, estimates suggest the partnership caused anywhere from a 9‐14% relative decrease in inspection score point deductions, with the effect being entirely evident in restaurants’ first inspections following the partnership’s announcement. Relative to the rest of Kentucky, I find that the partnership significantly reduced rates of severe food poisoning in Louisville.

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  • Matthew Philip Makofske, 2020. "The Effect of Information Salience on Product Quality: Louisville Restaurant Hygiene and Yelp.com," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(1), pages 52-92, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jindec:v:68:y:2020:i:1:p:52-92
    DOI: 10.1111/joie.12214
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Raj Chetty & Adam Looney & Kory Kroft, 2009. "Salience and Taxation: Theory and Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(4), pages 1145-1177, September.
    2. Raj Chetty, 2009. "The Simple Economics of Salience and Taxation," NBER Working Papers 15246, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Bryan Bollinger & Phillip Leslie & Alan Sorensen, 2011. "Calorie Posting in Chain Restaurants," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 3(1), pages 91-128, February.
    4. Ginger Zhe Jin & Jungmin Lee, 2018. "A Tale of Repetition: Lessons from Florida Restaurant Inspections," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 61(1), pages 159-188.
    5. Ginger Zhe Jin & Jungmin Lee, 2014. "Inspection technology, detection, and compliance: evidence from Florida restaurant inspections," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 45(4), pages 885-917, December.
    6. Michael Luca & Jonathan Smith, 2013. "Salience in Quality Disclosure: Evidence from the U.S. News College Rankings," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 58-77, March.
    7. Ginger Zhe Jin & Phillip Leslie, 2003. "The Effect of Information on Product Quality: Evidence from Restaurant Hygiene Grade Cards," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(2), pages 409-451.
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    Cited by:

    1. Makofske, Matthew Philip, 2021. "Spoiled food and spoiled surprises: Inspection anticipation and regulatory compliance," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 348-365.
    2. Yim, Hyejin & Katare, Bhagyashree & Cuffey, Joel, 2022. "Does Increasing Minimum Wage Impact Service Quality? Evidence from Restaurant Food Safety Inspections," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322411, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Makofske, Matthew Philip, 2020. "Mandatory disclosure, letter-grade systems, and corruption: The case of Los Angeles County restaurant inspections," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 292-313.
    4. Kovács, Balázs & Lehman, David W. & Carroll, Glenn R., 2020. "Grade inflation in restaurant hygiene inspections: Repeated interactions between inspectors and restaurateurs," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    5. Matthew P. Makofske, 2024. "Disclosure policy design and regulatory agent behavior," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(1), pages 118-144, January.
    6. Makofske, Matthew, 2024. "Anticipated Monitoring, Inhibited Detection, and Diminished Deterrence," MPRA Paper 120044, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • K32 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality

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