Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/101072 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
Working Papers in Economics and Statistics No. 2014-13
Publisher: 
University of Innsbruck, Research Platform Empirical and Experimental Economics (eeecon), Innsbruck
Abstract: 
In markets for credence goods sellers are better informed than their customers about the quality that yields the highest surplus from trade. This paper studies second-degree price-discrimination in such markets. It shows that discrimination regards the amount of advice offered to customers and that it leads to a different distortion depending on the main source of heterogeneity among consumers. If the heterogeneity is mainly in the expected cost of efficient service, the distortion involves overprovision of quality. By contrast, if consumers differ mainly in the surplus generated whenever the consumer's needs are met, the inefficiency involves underprovision of quality.
Subjects: 
Price Discrimination
Credence Goods
Experts
Discounters
Distribution Channels
JEL: 
L15
D82
D40
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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