Quality Upgrading in the Street Food Market: Is Better Equipment and Training Sufficient?

Caitlin Brown () and Denni Tommasi ()
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Caitlin Brown: Georgetown University
Denni Tommasi: University of Bologna

No 18328, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We study quality upgrading in informal markets through two experiments with street-food vendors and consumers in India. First, we define quality in terms of food safety and develop a context-specific measurement framework. Second, we show that consumers are willing to pay substantial premiums for cleanliness. Third, we implement a vendor-level intervention that lowers upgrading costs and enhances the ability to signal quality through sanitation-related equipment. The intervention improves food-safety practices and profits, but effects are modest and fade over time. Fixed pricing norms and local environmental constraints appear central, consistent with a moral hazard model where cleanliness is not profitable.

Keywords: hygiene practices; consumer preferences; randomized experiment; food safety; informal markets; street food; quality upgrading; moral hazard; subsidy effectiveness; signaling; developing countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D82 I18 L15 L31 O12 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp and nep-iue
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