Dr. Maryam Saeedi, Carnegie Mellon University
This event is part of the Economics Seminar Series series.
Location:
Gerri C. LeBow Hall722
3220 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
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Abstract How does quality-certication aect product quality in markets? We exploit a policy change on eBay to analyze how a more stringent certication policy aects entry and behavior across many markets segments. We nd that rst, entry increased in markets where it was harder to get certied, until a new steady state was reached. Second, the quality distribution of entrants exhibits fatter tails after the policy, and overall quality is slightly higher. Last, some incumbents respond by increasing the quality of their service to maintain certication. The results inform the design of certication policies in electronic and other markets. JEL D47, D82, L15, L86