IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/indorg/v28y2010i3p205-212.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Identifying the effect of unobserved quality and expert reviews in the pricing of experience goods: Empirical application on Bordeaux wine

Author

Listed:
  • Dubois, Pierre
  • Nauges, Céline

Abstract

We propose a structural empirical approach à la Olley and Pakes (1996) to disentangle the effect of experts' grades from the effect of unobserved quality on the pricing of experience goods. Using a panel data set of 108 châteaux selling wine on the "en primeur" market of Bordeaux, we confirm that experts' grades affect producers' choice of "en primeur" price above the effect of unobserved wine quality. Our empirical results also show that failing to control for endogeneity caused by the omission of unobserved quality leads to over-estimate the influence of experts' grades on the "primeur" price.

Suggested Citation

  • Dubois, Pierre & Nauges, Céline, 2010. "Identifying the effect of unobserved quality and expert reviews in the pricing of experience goods: Empirical application on Bordeaux wine," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 205-212, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:28:y:2010:i:3:p:205-212
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167-7187(09)00084-8
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. S. Darolles & Y. Fan & J. P. Florens & E. Renault, 2011. "Nonparametric Instrumental Regression," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 79(5), pages 1541-1565, September.
    2. Ashenfelter, Orley, 2010. "Predicting the Quality and Prices of Bordeaux Wine," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(1), pages 40-52, April.
    3. Philippe Mahenc, 2004. "Influence of Informed Buyers in Markets Susceptible to the Lemons Problem," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 86(3), pages 649-659.
    4. Avner Shaked & John Sutton, 1982. "Relaxing Price Competition Through Product Differentiation," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 49(1), pages 3-13.
    5. Nelson, Phillip, 1970. "Information and Consumer Behavior," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(2), pages 311-329, March-Apr.
    6. Ali, Héla Hadj & Lecocq, Sébastien & Visser, Michael, 2010. "The Impact of Gurus: Parker Grades and en primeur Wine Prices," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(1), pages 22-39, April.
    7. Caves, Richard E. & Greene, David P., 1996. "Brands' quality levels, prices, and advertising outlays: empirical evidence on signals and information costs," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 29-52.
    8. Ginger Zhe Jin & Phillip Leslie, 2003. "The Effect of Information on Product Quality: Evidence from Restaurant Hygiene Grade Cards," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 118(2), pages 409-451.
    9. Olley, G Steven & Pakes, Ariel, 1996. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1263-1297, November.
    10. Nelson, Philip, 1974. "Advertising as Information," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(4), pages 729-754, July/Aug..
    11. Daniel A. Ackerberg, 2003. "Advertising, learning, and consumer choice in experience good markets: an empirical examination," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 44(3), pages 1007-1040, August.
    12. Mahenc, Philippe & Meunier, Valérie, 2006. "Early Sales of Bordeaux grands crus," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 57-74, April.
    13. James Levinsohn & Amil Petrin, 2003. "Estimating Production Functions Using Inputs to Control for Unobservables," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 70(2), pages 317-341.
    14. Carl Shapiro, 1983. "Premiums for High Quality Products as Returns to Reputations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 98(4), pages 659-679.
    15. Landon, Stuart & Smith, Constance, 1997. "The Use of Quality and Reputation Indicators by Consumers: The Case of Bordeaux Wine," MPRA Paper 9283, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Stuart Landon & Constance E. Smith, 1998. "Quality Expectations, Reputation, and Price," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 64(3), pages 628-647, January.
    17. George A. Akerlof, 1970. "The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 84(3), pages 488-500.
    18. Héla Hadj Ali & Céline Nauges, 2007. "The Pricing of Experience Goods: The Example of en primeur Wine," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 89(1), pages 91-103.
    19. David A. Reinstein & Christopher M. Snyder, 2005. "The Influence Of Expert Reviews On Consumer Demand For Experience Goods: A Case Study Of Movie Critics," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 27-51, March.
    20. Jean Tirole, 1996. "A Theory of Collective Reputations (with applications to the persistence of corruption and to firm quality)," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 63(1), pages 1-22.
    21. Mahenc, Philippe & Meunier, Valerie, 2003. "Forward Markets and Signals of Quality," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 34(3), pages 478-494, Autumn.
    22. Ackerberg, Daniel & Caves, Kevin & Frazer, Garth, 2006. "Structural identification of production functions," MPRA Paper 38349, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    23. Victor Ginsburgh, 2003. "Awards, Success and Aesthetic Quality in the Arts," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 17(2), pages 99-111, Spring.
    24. Lecocq, Sébastien & Visser, Michael, 2006. "What Determines Wine Prices: Objective vs. Sensory Characteristics," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 42-56, April.
    25. Whitney K. Newey & James L. Powell, 2003. "Instrumental Variable Estimation of Nonparametric Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 71(5), pages 1565-1578, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kugler, Peter & Kugler, Claudio, 2010. "Parker, Wine Spectator and Retail Prices of Bordeaux Wines in Switzerland: Results from Panel Data 1995 - 2000," Working papers 2010/10, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    2. Onur, Ilke & Bruwer, Johan & Lockshin, Larry, 2020. "Reducing information asymmetry in the auctioning of non-perishable experience goods: The case of online wine auctions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    3. Clarissa Laura Maria Spiess Bru, 2023. "Does the Tasting Note Matter? Language Categories and Their Impact on Professional Ratings and Prices," Working Papers Dissertations 105, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    4. Stephen Bazen & Jean Marie Cardebat & Magalie Dubois, 2022. "From Gurus to Geeks? The Role of Customer and Expert Ratings in a Hedonic Analysis of French Red Wine Prices," Working Papers hal-03891458, HAL.
    5. Franken, Jason R. V. & Bacon, Kevin J., 2014. "Organizational Structure and Operation of the Illinois Wine Industry," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 43(1), pages 1-21, April.
    6. Christopher R. Gustafson & Travis J. Lybbert & Daniel A. Sumner, 2016. "Consumer sorting and hedonic valuation of wine attributes: exploiting data from a field experiment," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(1), pages 91-103, January.
    7. Dieter Pennerstorfer & Christoph Weiss & Andreas Huber, 2019. "Experts, Reputation and Umbrella Effects: Empirical Evidence from Wine Prices," Economics working papers 2019-08, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    8. Olivier Bargain & Jean‐Marie Cardebat & Raphaël Chiappini, 2023. "Trade uncorked: Genetic distance and taste‐related barriers in wine trade," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 105(2), pages 674-708, March.
    9. Bonnet, Céline & Hilger, James & Villas-Boas, Sofia B., 2017. "Reduced Form Evidence on Belief Updating under Asymmetric Information - The Case of Wine Expert Opinions," TSE Working Papers 17-834, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised May 2019.
    10. Pecchioli, Bruno & Moroz, David, 2023. "Do geographical appellations provide useful quality signals? The case of Scotch single malt whiskies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    11. Coublucq, Daniel, 2013. "Econometric analysis of productivity with measurement error: Empirical application to the US Railroad industry," DICE Discussion Papers 95, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    12. Mert Hakan Hekimoğlu & Burak Kazaz, 2020. "Analytics for Wine Futures: Realistic Prices," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 29(9), pages 2096-2120, September.
    13. Tiago Ribeiro & Armando Corsi & Larry Lockshin & Jordan Louviere & Simone Mueller Loose, 2020. "Analysis of consumer preferences for information and expert opinion using a discrete choice experiment," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 19(1), pages 67-80, January.
    14. Man Yu & Hyun-Soo Ahn & Roman Kapuscinski, 2015. "Rationing Capacity in Advance Selling to Signal Quality," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(3), pages 560-577, March.
    15. Oczkowski, Edward, 2019. "The relation between Australian wine show results and prices," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 60(2), July.
    16. Livat, Florine & Alston, Julian M. & Cardebat, Jean-Marie, 2019. "Do denominations of origin provide useful quality signals? The case of Bordeaux wines," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 518-532.
    17. Kugler, Peter, 2010. "Grosse Währung eines kleinen Landes: Der Schweizer Franken 1850 bis?," Working papers 2010/09, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    18. Emmanuel Paroissien & Michael Visser, 2020. "The Causal Impact of Medals on Wine Producers' Prices and the Gains from Participating in Contests," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(4), pages 1135-1153, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dieter Pennerstorfer & Christoph Weiss & Andreas Huber, 2019. "Experts, Reputation and Umbrella Effects: Empirical Evidence from Wine Prices," Economics working papers 2019-08, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    2. Villas-Boas, Sofia B, 2020. "Reduced Form Evidence on Belief Updating Under Asymmetric Information," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series qt08c456vk, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley.
    3. Pecchioli, Bruno & Moroz, David, 2023. "Do geographical appellations provide useful quality signals? The case of Scotch single malt whiskies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    4. Sulser, Pascal A., 2021. "Pay-per-minute pricing: A field experiment comparing traditional and participative pricing mechanisms," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    5. Patrizia Fanasch, 2019. "Survival of the fittest: The impact of eco‐certification and reputation on firm performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 611-628, May.
    6. Menival, David & Charters, Steve, 2014. "The impact of geographic reputation on the value created in Champagne," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 58(2), April.
    7. Bonnet, Céline & Hilger, James & Villas-Boas, Sofia B., 2017. "Reduced Form Evidence on Belief Updating under Asymmetric Information - The Case of Wine Expert Opinions," TSE Working Papers 17-834, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised May 2019.
    8. Nicolas G鲡rd Vaillant & François-Charles Wolff, 2013. "Understanding how experts rate cigars: a ‘havanometric’ analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1), pages 99-109, January.
    9. Philippe Masset & Jean‐Philippe Weisskopf, 2022. "At what price should Bordeaux wines be released?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(1), pages 392-412, January.
    10. Belleflamme,Paul & Peitz,Martin, 2015. "Industrial Organization," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107687899.
    11. Nicolas G. Vaillant & François-Charles Wolff, 2011. "Understanding how experts rate cigars," Post-Print hal-00732116, HAL.
    12. Olivier Gergaud & Florine Livat, 2004. "Team versus individual reputations: a model of interaction and some empirical evidence," Cahiers de la Maison des Sciences Economiques bla04015, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1).
    13. Michela Ponzo & Vincenzo Scoppa, 2015. "Experts’ awards and economic success: evidence from an Italian literary prize," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 39(4), pages 341-367, November.
    14. Richard Friberg & Erik Grönqvist, 2012. "Do Expert Reviews Affect the Demand for Wine?," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 4(1), pages 193-211, January.
    15. Grunewald, Andreas & Kräkel, Matthias, 2017. "Advertising as signal jamming," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 91-113.
    16. Stuart Landon & Constance E. Smith, 1998. "Quality Expectations, Reputation, and Price," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 64(3), pages 628-647, January.
    17. Fares, M’hand & Raza, Saqlain & Thomas, Alban, 2018. "Is there complementarity between labels and brands? Evidence from small French co-operatives," TSE Working Papers 18-895, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    18. Ricardo Sellers†Rubio & Francisco Mas†Ruiz & Franco Sancho†Esper, 2018. "Firm reputation, advertising investment, and price premium: The role of collective brand membership in high†quality wines," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(2), pages 351-362, March.
    19. Hilger, James & Rafert, Greg & Villas-Boas, Sofia Berto, 2007. "Expert Opinion and the Demand for Experience Goods: An Experimental Approach," CUDARE Working Papers 6055, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    20. Kim, Kyoo il & Petrin, Amil & Song, Suyong, 2016. "Estimating production functions with control functions when capital is measured with error," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 190(2), pages 267-279.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Experience good Unobserved quality Expert reviews Structural econometrics Wine;

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality
    • Q11 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis; Prices
    • C51 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Construction and Estimation

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:28:y:2010:i:3:p:205-212. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505551 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.