An Instructional Exercise in Price Controls: Product Quality, Misallocation, and Public Policy

Public Report, Price, and Quality

A monopolist produces a good with two qualities. All consumers have the same valuation of the first quality, but their valuations of the second vary, and are their private information. A public agency can verify qualities, and make credible reports to consumers. In Full Quality Report, the public agency reports both qualities. In Average Quality Report, it reports a weighted average of qualitie...

Private Labels, Price Rivalry, and Public Policy¤

The article examines how the existence of a retailer owned brand, private label, a¤ects the price setting of a national brand. We ...nd that the potential for a private label introduction may lead to price concessions from the national brand producer, but that actual private label introduction as such may very well lead to higher retail prices on national brands. We argue that this may have imp...

Public Policy, Price Shocks, and Civil War in Developing Countries

Those who study the role of agriculture in the political economy of development focus on government policy choices on the one hand and the impact of price shocks on the other. We argue that the two should be studied together. We find that civil unrest (Granger) causes government policies, pushing governments in poor and medium income countries to shift relative prices in favor of urban consumer...

Public Policy, Price Shocks, and Conflict: Price Shocks and Civil War in Developing Countries∗

Those who study the role of agriculture in the political economy of development focus on government policy choices on the one hand and the impact of price shocks on the other. We argue that the two should be studied together. We find that civil unrest (Granger) causes government policies, pushing governments in poor and medium income countries to shift relative prices in favor of urban consumer...

Youth Smoking Uptake Progress: Price and Public Policy Effects