Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/75437 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
LICOS Discussion Paper No. 333
Publisher: 
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, LICOS Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, Leuven
Abstract: 
Retailers' private standards are increasingly important in addressing consumer concerns about safety, quality and social and environmental issues. Empirical evidence shows that these private standards are frequently more stringent than their public counterparts. This article develops a political economy model that may contribute to explaining this stylized fact. We show that if producers exercise their political power to persuade the government to impose a lower public standard, retailers may apply their market power to install a private standard at a higher level than the public one, depending on several factors.
Subjects: 
Private standards
public standards
political economy
JEL: 
D72
L15
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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