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Are green products over-priced?

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  • Philippe Mahenc

Abstract

This article investigates conditions under which high prices, in conjunction with low levels of pollution, signal environmentally clean products. It is shown that, when consumers cannot ascertain the environmental performance of products, the price must be distorted LERNA-INRA, Université Toulouse 1 and GEREM, Université de Perpignan. I wish to thank one anonymous referee for helpful comments.
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  • Philippe Mahenc, 2007. "Are green products over-priced?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 38(4), pages 461-473, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:38:y:2007:i:4:p:461-473
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-007-9084-9
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    13. Bansal, Sangeeta & Gangopadhyay, Shubhashis, 2003. "Tax/subsidy policies in the presence of environmentally aware consumers," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 45(2, Supple), pages 333-355, March.
    14. George A. Akerlof, 1970. "The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 84(3), pages 488-500.
    15. Boulding, William & Kirmani, Amna, 1993. "A Consumer-Side Experimental Examination of Signaling Theory: Do Consumers Perceive Warranties as Signals of Quality?," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 20(1), pages 111-123, June.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Aditi Sengupta, 2010. "Signaling environmental quality to green consumers and the incentive to invest in cleaner technology: Effect of environmental regulation," Departmental Working Papers 1001, Southern Methodist University, Department of Economics.
    2. Alexandre Volle, 2017. "Why is price useless to signal environmental quality ?," Working Papers 2017.30, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    3. Sengupta, Aditi, 2012. "Investment in cleaner technology and signaling distortions in a market with green consumers," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 468-480.
    4. Philippe Mahenc, 2017. "Honest versus Misleading Certification," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 454-483, June.
    5. Argiles, Josep M. & Brown, Nestor Duch, 2011. "A comparison of the economic and environmental performances of conventional and organic farming: evidence from financial statements," Agricultural Economics Review, Greek Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 11(1), pages 1-18, January.
    6. Philippe Mahenc & Alexandre Volle, 2021. "Price Signaling and Quality Monitoring in Markets for Credence Goods," Working Papers hal-03098440, HAL.
    7. Ramos, A. & Gago, A. & Labandeira, X. & Linares, P., 2015. "The role of information for energy efficiency in the residential sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(S1), pages 17-29.
    8. Fuerst, Franz & McAllister, Pat, 2011. "Eco-labeling in commercial office markets: Do LEED and Energy Star offices obtain multiple premiums?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(6), pages 1220-1230, April.
    9. Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline, 2010. "Green Leader or Green Liar? Differentiation and the role of NGOs," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 10097, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    10. Liming Zhao & Ling Li & Yao Song & Cong Li & Yujie Wu, 2018. "Research on Pricing and Coordination Strategy of a Sustainable Green Supply Chain with a Capital-Constrained Retailer," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2018, pages 1-12, January.
    11. Ki, Hyoshin & Kim, Jeong-Yoo, 2022. "Sell green and buy green: A signaling theory of green products," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    12. Florian Baumann & Tim Friehe, 2017. "Design standards and technology adoption: welfare effects of increasing environmental fines when the number of firms is endogenous," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 19(2), pages 427-450, April.
    13. Freitas, Luiz & Wagner, Jeffrey, 2009. "The uncertain moral context of price changes," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 1100-1105, February.
    14. Philippe Mahenc & Alexandre Volle, 2021. "Price Signaling and Quality Monitoring in Markets for Credence Goods," CEE-M Working Papers hal-03098440, CEE-M, Universtiy of Montpellier, CNRS, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental performance; Experience good; Green product; Pollution; Quality; Signaling; D42; D82; L15; Q50;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D42 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Monopoly
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General

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