We develop a model of simple "reputation systems" that monitor and publish information about the behavior of sellers in a search market with asymmetric information. The reputations created influence the equilibrium search patterns of buyers and thus provide for market-based "punishment" of bad behavior. We show that a reputation system that rewards honesty can enhance welfare by allowing good sellers to truthfully signal their type. However, the same system can be prone to strategic manipulation by sellers who always have low-quality products. In that case, we show that an alternative system which assigns reputations based on product quality rather than honesty can be superior. Copyright The editors of the "Scandinavian Journal of Economics" 2007 .
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Paper
John Kennes & Aaron Schiff, .
"Simple Reputation Systems,"
Discussion Papers
05-21, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics, revised Nov 2005.
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Benoit Julien & John Kennes & Ian King, 2000.
"Bidding for Labor,"
Review of Economic Dynamics,
Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 3(4), pages 619-649, October.
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Julien, B. & Kennes, J. & King, I., 1998.
"Bidding for Labour,"
Discussion Papers
dp98-03, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University.