Lending credence: motivation, trust, and organic certification

Steve Holland ()
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Steve Holland: Luther College

Agricultural and Food Economics, 2016, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-18

Abstract: Abstract The information asymmetries inherent in credence goods have typically led economists to conclude these markets require well-defined quality standards and third-party verification that producers are meeting those standards. Nonetheless, many producers of credence goods appear to be opting out of certification. Why? This paper builds in previous research and develops a theoretical framework to think about how producers’ motivation and relationships with consumers affect the necessity and effectiveness of certification. I find the degree to which a consumer trusts the producer of a credence good and the certification standard that governs it and the degree to which the producer is motivated to produce a good of a certain quality both have important effects on certification-based regulation.

Keywords: Credence goods; Organic food; Certification; Agriculture; Trust; Intrinsic motivation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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DOI: 10.1186/s40100-016-0058-5

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