Welchen Zusammenhang zwischen Preis und Qualität sollte der Wettbewerb auf Konsumgütermärkten herstellen? / Which Price-Quality Relationship Should Competition Induce on Consumer Goods Markets ?: Empirische Befunde, normative Überlegungen, marktpolitische Schlussfolgerungen

Imkamp Heiner ()
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Imkamp Heiner: Universität Hohenheim, Institut für Haushalts- und Konsumökonomik (530), 70593 Stuttgart, Germany

Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), 2009, vol. 229, issue 4, 410-425

Abstract: Not only that consumers take it often for granted that product prices are good indicators of product quality, but also many experts in consumer economics expect a high positive price-quality relationship. However, for more than 50 years numerous studies in more than 10 countries all over the world have shown low price-quality correlation coefficients, mostly close to 0.2. These results have been interpreted twofold: (a) consumers cannot use prices as valid indicators of quality and (b) markets do not function well. In contrast to the second interpretation, this paper argues that, according to the economic theory of price formation, prices are not an indicator of quality, but an indicator of scarcity. This allows the conclusion that workable consumer goods markets, as seen from a welfare point of view, should be characterized by low or even negative correlations between price and objective quality rather than by strong positive coefficients. All the more it is the availability of valid information about product quality which is necessary to enable consumers to avoid inefficient product choices.

Keywords: Price-quality relationship; market efficiency; market failure; workable competition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:jns:jbstat:v:229:y:2009:i:4:p:410-425

DOI: 10.1515/jbnst-2009-0404

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