Market-level effects of competition: prices, quality, and mechanisms

本研究项目使用实验方法来测试一个基本的经济理论——市场竞争对价格、产品质量、现有企业的退出决策、消费者福利的影响，以及这些变化如何影响消费者对质量、购买习惯和行为的看法。这些实验应用于农业投入市场。本研究项目将利用一家具有质量意识的大型农资连锁商店进入一个国家的农资市场的机会，研究这家具有质量意识的连锁商店进入该市场是否能改善该市场的结果，特别是肥料的价格、质量和使用。研究人员还将研究农民在了解新市场进入者的不同质量和价格以及现有形式对这些市场变化的反应后，如何改变他们对质量和购买习惯的看法。本研究项目的结果不仅对竞争压力对产品质量、价格和消费者福利的影响提供了实证检验，而且还显示了一种可以提高农业生产率的机制，特别是在低收入国家。这将提高农民的生产力和收入，从而减少贫困。这个研究项目将使用实验室实地实验来衡量进入市场的更广泛的影响，特别是参考质量，价格和偏好的变化。pi假设这种影响将通过新公司增加对现有零售商的竞争压力和/或通过改变消费者的信念来发生。现代种子和肥料具有提高农业产量的潜力，但在低收入社区，市场上普遍存在低质量投入物。这可能降低农民使用现代投入品的倾向，从而降低农业生产率和经济增长。本研究计划提出双管齐下的研究设计，以研究新市场进入者的影响。首先，新进入者愿意在一组预先确定的地点随机选择新店的开设地点。这将使pi能够衡量竞争如何影响价格、质量和企业进入/退出。其次，对住在研究市场附近的农民进行实验，将衡量他们为不同来源和质量水平的投入物付费的意愿。这些实验将揭示市场层面效应背后的机制。通过研究市场力量是否能够提高消费者可获得的产品质量，研究结果可能对该地区的经济增长和数百万农民的福利产生重大影响。这项研究的结果将为增加采用现代农业投入的政策提供信息，从而提高生产力和收入，从而减少贫困。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This research project uses experimental methods to test a fundamental economic theory---the effects of market competition on prices, product quality, exit decisions of existing firms, consumer welfare as well as how these changes affect consumer perception of quality, buying habits, and behavior. The experiments are applied to agricultural input markets. This research project will take advantage of the entry of a large quality conscious agro-input store chain into the agro-input market of a country to examine whether entry by this quality-conscious chain can improve outcomes in this market, especially price, quality, and usage of fertilizer. The researchers will also study how farmers change their views on quality and buying habits as they learn about the differential quality and prices of the new market entrant as well as the reaction of existing forms to these market changes. The results of this research project will not only offer an empirical test of the effects of competitive pressures on product quality, price, and consumer welfare, it also shows one mechanisms through which agricultural productivity can be increased, especially in low income countries. This will increase the productivity and incomes of farmers, thus decreasing poverty. This research project will use lab-in-the field experiments to measure the broader impacts of entry on the market with particular refence on quality, price and changes in preferences. The PIs hypothesize that the effects will take place through the new firms increasing competitive pressures on existing retailers and/or by shifting consumer beliefs. Modern seeds and fertilizers have the potential to boost agricultural yields, but there is a high prevalence of low-quality inputs on the market in low income communities. This can reduce farmers’ propensity to use modern inputs which in turn lowers agricultural productivity and economic growth. This research project proposes a two-pronged research design to study the effects of new market entrant. First, the new entrant is willing to randomize where the new stores will open across a set of pre-identified locations. This will allow the PIs to measure how competition affects prices, quality, and firm entry/exit. Second, experiments with farmers who live near study markets will measure their willingness to pay for inputs of differing provenance and quality levels. These experiments will shed light on the mechanisms behind market-level effects. By studying whether market forces can increase the product quality available to consumers, the findings could have large implications for economic growth in the region and for the welfare of millions of farmers. The results of this research will inform policies to increase the adoption of modern agricultural inputs, hence improve productivity and incomes, leading to poverty reduction.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.