Uncertainty and Reputation Effects in Credence Goods Markets


Book Description

Credence-goods experiments have focused on stylized settings in which experts can perfectly identify the buyer's best option and that option works without fail. However, in nature, credence goods involve uncertainties that complicate assessing the quality of service and advice. We introduce two sources of uncertainty. The first is diagnostic uncertainty; experts receive a noisy signal of buyer type so might make an 'honest' mistake when advising what is in buyers' best interests. The second is service uncertainty; the services available to the buyers do not always work. Both sources of uncertainty make detection of expert dishonesty more difficult, so are hypothesized to increase dishonesty by experts and decrease buyers' trust (willingness to consult experts for advice and to follow expert advice) - decreasing efficiency of the interactions. We also analyze how buyers use ratings and whether ratings restrain dishonesty and attenuate distrust by creating reliable reputations. In contrast to hypotheses, we find that uncertainty has no effect on honesty and increases trust; additionally, ratings do not improve efficiency of the transactions under uncertainty - in part due to buyers' tendency to 'shoot the messenger' (give low ratings) when they buy service that does not work due to bad luck, and to give experts the 'benefit of the doubt' (high ratings) when they buy service that may have been intentionally overprovided (not in the buyer's best interest).




Diagnostic Uncertainty and Insurance Coverage in Credence Goods Markets


Book Description

In markets for credence goods - such as health care or repair services - fraudulent behavior by better informed experts is a common problem. Our model studies how four common features shape experts' provision behavior in credence goods markets: (i) diagnostic uncertainty of experts; (ii) insurance coverage of consumers; (iii) malpractice payments for treatment failure; and (vi) consumer-regarding preferences of experts. Diagnostic imprecision unambiguously leads to less efficient provision. Insurance coverage and malpractice payments have an ambiguous effect on efficient provision. The impact of consumer-regarding preferences on efficiency is positive without insurance but ambiguous in the presence of insurance.




Serving Consumers in an Uncertain World


Book Description

Credence goods markets are prone to fraudulent behavior and market inefficiencies due to informational asymmetries between sellers and customers. We examine experimentally the effects of diagnostic uncertainty and insurance coverage on the information acquisition and provision decisions by sellers and the trading decisions by consumers. Our results reveal that diagnostic uncertainty is a major source of inefficiency by decreasing efficient service provision. Insurance coverage has a positive net effect on market efficiency, despite making information acquisition and efficient service provision less likely. We also examine the role of -s and of sellers' prosociality in shaping service provision and information acquisition.




Status and Reputation Nudging


Book Description

Status and reputation concerns are conjectured to be important especially in markets with information asymmetries between buyers and sellers, such as in credence goods markets. To investigate the effects of status and reputation on reciprocal behavior of sales personnel in a financial credence goods market, we run a natural field experiment. We send e-mail requests to insurance brokers asking for an appointment. We find that status nudging and, with a larger effect size, reputation nudging in the e-mails increase brokers' response rates compared to a neutral request. Both effects are robust across all responses, only counting affirmative responses, and in urban and rural areas.




Reputation and Uncertainty


Book Description




Handbook of the Economics of Risk and Uncertainty


Book Description

The need to understand the theories and applications of economic and finance risk has been clear to everyone since the financial crisis, and this collection of original essays proffers broad, high-level explanations of risk and uncertainty. The economics of risk and uncertainty is unlike most branches of economics in spanning from the individual decision-maker to the market (and indeed, social decisions), and ranging from purely theoretical analysis through individual experimentation, empirical analysis, and applied and policy decisions. It also has close and sometimes conflicting relationships with theoretical and applied statistics, and psychology. The aim of this volume is to provide an overview of diverse aspects of this field, ranging from classical and foundational work through current developments. Presents coherent summaries of risk and uncertainty that inform major areas in economics and finance Divides coverage between theoretical, empirical, and experimental findings Makes the economics of risk and uncertainty accessible to scholars in fields outside economics




Credence Goods Markets and the Informational Value of New Media


Book Description

Credence goods markets are characterized by pronounced informational asymmetries between consumers and expert sellers. As a consequence, consumers are often exploited and market efficiency is threatened. However, in the digital age, it has become easy and cheap for consumers to self-diagnose their needs using specialized webpages or to access other consumers’ reviews on social media platforms in search for trustworthy sellers. We present a natural field experiment that examines the causal effect of information acquisition from new media on the level of sellers’ price charges for computer repairs. We find that even a correct self-diagnosis of a consumer about the appropriate repair does not reduce prices, and that an incorrect diagnosis more than doubles them. Internet ratings of repair shops are a good predictor of prices. However, the predictive valued of reviews depends on whether they are judged as reliable or not. For reviews recommended by the platform Yelp we find that good ratings are associated with lower prices and bad ratings with higher prices, while non-recommended reviews have a clearly misleading effect, because non-recommended positive ratings increase the price.




Posthumous Art, Law and the Art Market


Book Description

This book takes an interdisciplinary, transnational and cross-cultural approach to reflect on, critically examine and challenge the surprisingly robust practice of making art after death in an artist's name, through the lenses of scholars from the fields of art history, economics and law, as well as practicing artists. Works of art conceived as multiples, such as sculptures, etchings, prints, photographs and conceptual art, can be—and often are—remade from original models and plans long after the artist has passed. Recent sales have suggested a growing market embrace of posthumous works, contemporaneous with questioning on the part of art history. Legal norms seem unready for this surge in posthumous production and are beset by conflict across jurisdictions. Non-Western approaches to posthumous art, from Chinese emulations of non-living artists to Native American performances, take into account rituals of generational passage at odds with contemporary, market-driven approaches. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, the art market, art law, art management, museum studies and economics.




Handbook on International Trade Policy


Book Description

'This book obtains its broad expertise by pulling together expertise from a wide range of experts in the way that each chapter is written by authors specialized in the topic addressed. . . This Handbook on international trade policy is a good summary of theories, policy instruments and their effects and is written in an understandable manner. Most parts are suited for students and those who want to start understanding international trade policy. It is also useful for researchers, policy-makers and practitioners looking for quick guidance on different topics in international trade policy. The clear structure of the book organized by topics allows for a quick and easy reference.' – Martin Grass, Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture The Handbook on International Trade Policy is an insightful and comprehensive reference tool focusing on trade policy issues in the era of globalization. Each specially commissioned chapter deals with important international trade issues, discusses the current literature on the subject, and explores major controversies. The Handbook also directs the interested reader to further sources of information. The expert contributors cover both traditional and more current concerns including: • history of thought on trade policy • the development of multilateral organizations such as the World Trade Organization • border restrictions and subsidies • regional trade agreements • trade and the environment • animal, plant and food safety measures • international protection of intellectual property and sanctions. Presenting a broad and state-of-the-art perspective on the topic, this highly accessible Handbook will prove an invaluable resource to researchers, academics, policymakers and practitioners concerned with international trade policy.