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Reputation Inflation

Author

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  • Apostolos Filippas
  • John J. Horton
  • Joseph M. Golden

Abstract

A solution to marketplace information asymmetries is to have trading partners publicly rate each other post-transaction. Many have shown that these ratings are effective; we show that their effectiveness deteriorates over time. The problem is that ratings are prone to inflation, with raters feeling pressure to leave “above average” ratings, which in turn pushes the average higher. This pressure stems from raters’ desire to not harm the rated seller. As the potential to harm is what makes ratings effective, reputation systems, as currently designed, sow the seeds of their own irrelevance.

Suggested Citation

  • Apostolos Filippas & John J. Horton & Joseph M. Golden, 2019. "Reputation Inflation," NBER Working Papers 25857, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25857
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    Cited by:

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    2. Elina Ishmukhametova & Marina Sandomirskaia, 2023. "The Problem Of Reputation Reliability In Online Freelance Markets," HSE Working papers WP BRP 260/EC/2023, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    3. Liran Einav & Chiara Farronato & Jonathan Levin, 2016. "Peer-to-Peer Markets," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 8(1), pages 615-635, October.
    4. Alex Wood-Doughty, 2016. "Do Employers Learn from Public, Subjective, Performance Reviews?," Working Papers 16-11, NET Institute.
    5. Peitz, Martin & Schwalbe, Ulrich, 2016. "Zwischen Sozialromantik und Neoliberalismus: Zur Ökonomie der Sharing-Economy," ZEW Discussion Papers 16-033, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    6. Marcello Basili & Maria Alessandra Rossi, 2018. "Platform-mediated reputation systems in the sharing economy and incentives to provide service quality: the case of ridesharing services," Department of Economics University of Siena 787, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    7. Cristiano Codagnone & Fabienne Abadie & Federico Biagi, 2016. "The Future of Work in the ‘Sharing Economy’. Market Efficiency and Equitable Opportunities or Unfair Precarisation?," JRC Research Reports JRC101280, Joint Research Centre.
    8. Lingfang (Ivy) Li & Steven Tadelis & Xiaolan Zhou, 2020. "Buying reputation as a signal of quality: Evidence from an online marketplace," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 51(4), pages 965-988, December.
    9. John Horton, 2018. "Buyer Uncertainty about Seller Capacity: Causes, Consequences, and a Partial Solution," CESifo Working Paper Series 6985, CESifo.
    10. Cristiano Codagnone & Federico Biagi & Fabienne Abadie, 2016. "The Passions and the Interests: Unpacking the ‘Sharing Economy’," JRC Research Reports JRC101279, Joint Research Centre.
    11. Chen Liang & Yili Hong & Bin Gu, 2016. "Effects of IT-enabled Monitoring on Labor Contracting in Online Platforms: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Working Papers 16-01, NET Institute.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • D47 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Market Design

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