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Collective Reputation and Market Structure: Regulating the Quality vs Quantity Trade-of

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  • Pierre Fleckinger

    (CECO - Laboratoire d'économétrie de l'École polytechnique - X - École polytechnique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

Between market unraveling and individual reputation building, markets for experience goods often exhibit intermediate patterns. This paper explores the situation in which consumers know the average quality offered by a set of producers, but not the quality of one given product. A first issue is how such an aggregate signal shapes competition when strategic variables are quantity and quality. The equilibrium welfare function is convex in the number of competing firms as a consequence of decreasing quality and increasing quantity. A second issue is regulation. It is possible to trade-off quantity against quality through a number of regulatory tools. Among one-instrument policies, entry and quantity regulation perform better than price-based regulation. Policy implications for professional regulation in service markets and producers' organisations in agriculture are briefly discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Pierre Fleckinger, 2007. "Collective Reputation and Market Structure: Regulating the Quality vs Quantity Trade-of," Working Papers hal-00243080, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00243080
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-00243080
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Daniela Benavente, 2010. "Geographical Indications: The Economics of Claw-Back," IHEID Working Papers 11-2010, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    2. Stefano Castriota & Marco Delmastro, 2010. "Individual and Collective Reputation: Lessons from the Wine Market," L'industria, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 1, pages 149-172.
    3. McQuade, Timothy & Salant, Stephen W. & Winfree, Jason, 2009. "Markets with untraceable goods of unknown quality: a market failure exacerbated by globalization," MPRA Paper 21874, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Fulvio Fontini & Katrin Millock & Michele Moretto, 2018. "Collective reputation with stochastic production and unknown willingness to pay for quality," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 20(2), pages 387-410, April.
    5. Rupayan Pal & Marcella Scrimitore & Ruichao Song, 2023. "Externalities, entry bias, and optimal subsidy policy for cleaner environment," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 25(1), pages 90-122, February.
    6. Aaron Adalja & Erik Lichtenberg & Elina T. Page, 2023. "Collective investment in a common pool resource: Grower associations and food safety guidelines," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 105(1), pages 144-173, January.
    7. Zago, Angelo, 2015. "La réputation collective sur les marchés agricoles," Économie rurale, French Society of Rural Economics (SFER Société Française d'Economie Rurale), vol. 345(January-F).
    8. Baniak Andrzej & Grajzl Peter, 2013. "Equilibrium and Welfare in a Model of Torts with Industry Reputation Effects," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 9(2), pages 265-302, October.
    9. Jason A. Winfree, 2023. "Collective reputation and food," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(2), pages 666-683, June.
    10. Jie Bai & Ludovica Gazze & Yukun Wang, 2019. "Collective Reputation in Trade: Evidence from the Chinese Dairy Industry," CID Working Papers 366, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    11. Jie Bai & Ludovica Gazze & Yukun Wang, 2019. "Collective Reputation in Trade: Evidence from the Chinese Dairy Industry," NBER Working Papers 26283, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Daniela Benavente, 2010. "The Economics of Geographical Indications: GIs Modelled As Club Assets," IHEID Working Papers 10-2010, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    13. Adalja, Aaron & Lichtenberg, Erik, 2016. "Foodborne Illness Outbreaks, Collective Reputation, and Voluntary Adoption of Industry-wide Food Safety Protocols by Fruit and Vegetable Growers," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235865, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Bailet, Isabelle & Diotallevi, Francesco & Marchini, Andrea, 2010. "Determinant factors in reputation of wines:analysis of wine production in Central Italy," MPRA Paper 40635, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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