Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
粗略认证的影响：来自能源之星计划的证据
The Incidence of Coarse Certification: Evidence From the ENERGY STAR Program
摘要
A coarse certification provides simple but incomplete information. Its rationale is to help consumers trade off dimensions of quality that are complex and lack salience. In imperfectly competitive markets, it may induce excess bunching at the certification requirement, crowd out quality, and facilitate price discrimination. Who will ultimately benefit from a coarse certification thus depends on the degree of market power firms can exercise as well as on consumers' sophistication in responding to such information. I use a structural econometric model of the U.S. appliance market to illustrate these insights using the ENERGY STAR certification as a case study.
中文摘要
粗放型认证提供简单但不完整的信息。其基本原理是帮助消费者权衡复杂且缺乏显著性的质量维度。在不完全竞争市场中，这种认证可能导致企业在认证要求处过度聚集、挤占质量提升空间，并促进价格歧视。因此，粗放型认证的最终受益者取决于企业能够行使的市场势力程度，以及消费者对此类信息的反应成熟度。本文以能源之星认证为案例，运用美国家电市场的结构计量经济学模型来阐释上述见解。