0000000000014036
AUTHOR
Gilles Grolleau
Overcomplying for profit
To maximize their profit, multinationals can design and implement the same and toughest standard in all locations, regardless of domestic regulations. We discuss this kind of overcompliance and stress its underpinnings. Some potential extensions are suggested.
Designing ecolabels in order to mitigate market failures: an application to agrofood products
For the market for ecofriendly characteristics of agrofood producs effectively, ùeans of mitigationg asymmetric information, informational overload and public goods properties are necessary. Ecolabel success requires a design and an implementation capable of mitigating simultaneously these three sources of market failures. Our contribution differs from many to date by (1) introducing and analyzing the informational overload as a source of market falure and (2) considering the ecolabel, not only as tool to re-establish information summetry between the producer and consumer but also as a way to overcome international overload and public goods problems. We analyze how these sources of market f…
Public Purchasing and Eco-labelling Schemes: Making the Connection and Reinforcing Policy Coherence
Many governments have promoted eco-labelling schemes as an accurate information-based policy to regulate environmental problems. This paper argues that governments should integrate eco-labelling into their purchasing decisions, both to benefit the environment directly and to reinforce ecolabelling programs as a means to influence private purchasers. Both effects could be quite significant given that governments are large purchasers of goods and services. After reviewing the main barriers and potentialities for greening procurement markets, we explore several ways by which green public procurement can promote the overall diffusion of eco-labelled products. JEL codes: H57; Q 28
Consommer plus ou consommer plus que les autres ? Une analyse empirique des biens de position
International audience; En nous inspirant de la méthodologie employée par Solnick et Hemenway [1998], nous étudions empiriquement l’interdépendance des fonctions d’utilité à partir de données collectées en France. Nos estimations confirment en partie les résultats obtenus par Solnick et Hemenway [1998] et montrent que (1) la position relative est importante dans le choix des individus, (2) les effets positionnels diffèrent selon les domaines, (3) les individus sont plus positionnels sur les biens que sur les maux et (4) les individus sont plus positionnels quand il s’agit de certains choix relatifs à leurs enfants. En outre, la société d’origine est également susceptible d’influer sur l’imp…
[Loyauté des transactions sur un marché relatif aux attributs de croyance : une analyse appliquée aux produits agro-alimentaires]
International audience; Après avoir décliné la typologie des caractéristiques des produits en termes d'attributs de recherche, d'expérience et de croyance, les auteurs soulignent les mécanismes susceptibles d'assurer l'efficacité des transactions marchandes. Afin de cerner les enjeux liés à la loyauté des transactions dans le cas des attributs de croyance, ils montrent à l'aide d'un jeu simple, le caractère crucial des phases de définition, de vérification et de signalement, ces dernières nécessitant généralement l'intervention d'agents extérieurs à la transaction marchande.
Purchasing Power and Process Attributes: Some Preliminary Considerations in the Arena of International Trade
We analyse the implications of regulating market-based process attributes in an international trade context. We apply our work to agro-food products by providing anecdotal evidences. To guarantee fair trading in open market-based credence goods, we underline the importance of the defining stage prior to the stages of monitoring and signalling hidden credence properties. We briefly discuss some implications of marketing process attributes in the context of international trade, notably by stressing the need for international co-operation. JEL Classification Numbers: D 82, F 13, Q 18, L 15
"Facta non verba" : an experiment on pledging and giving
International audience; We design an experiment to investigate whether asking people to state how much they will donate to a charity (i.e., to pledge) increases their actual donation. Individuals’ endowment is either certain or a random variable. We study different types of pledges, namely, private, public and irrevocable, which differ in terms of the cost to the individual for not keeping the promise. We show that in absence of endowment uncertainty, private and public pledges are associated with lower donations as compared to donations in the no-pledge case: private pledges slightly reduce donations and public pledges reduce them more significantly. Donations increase with uncertainty (in…
Une introduction à l'économie des faux diplomes
International audience; This paper critiques the multifarious ways whereby academic qualifications may be falsified in the international marketplace. The objectives are fourfold : (1) defining the main terms used such as fake degrees and diploma mills ; (2) providing a brief history of fake degrees and identifying the factors that explain their recent development ; (3) developing a theoretical framework to analyze fake degrees ; and (4) exploring the costs and benefits of this activity and its net impact on a given society. Degrees serve instrumental and ceremonial purposes. It is argued that degree holders may be considered as members of a club. They confer to their holders excludable but …
Worldwide Diffusion of ISO 14001 Standard
We conduct an empirical examination of national conditions that promote the diffusion of the ISO 14001 standard. Our estimates confirm earlier studies on several determinants. While environmental considerations are important in the diffusion of the ISO 14001 standard, we show that other factors play a significant role as well, such as the prior diffusion of ISO 9000 and the country’s education level. Our main contribution is to provide empirical evidence for the hypothesis that the participation of a country or an economic sector in the standard-setting process is a major driver of its future adoption of the standard.
Does Ethical Activism Lead to Firm Relocation?1
La premiere generation de l'activisme ethique a conduit les decideurs politiques des pays developpes a imposer des normes ethiques contraignantes sur les industries domestiques. A cause des couts generes par ces pressions ethiques, certaines firmes ont delocalise leurs activites de production vers des pays plus laxistes. La seconde generation d'activisme ethique a directement vise les firmes en menacant leur profit sur les marches de consommation, independamment de leur localisation. Nous montrons que, dans certaines circonstances, cette deuxieme generation peut conduire les firmes a reconsiderer la localisation de leur production. Nous en deduisons que l'activisme ethique peut constituer u…
[Information technologies as a potential instrument in the service of social economy ?]
International audience; Après avoir identifié quelques mutations systémiques liées au développement des NTIC, nous analysons les potentialités qu'elles offrent aux acteurs de l'économie sociale. Ces mutations sont difficiles à circonscrire du fait d'une évolution constante et particulièrement rapide des NTIC. Nous montrons comment les NTIC et Internet en particulier remettent en question le modèle du marché, d'une part et contribuent, d'autre part, à transformer l'information en un bien surabondant, disponible quasi-instantanément, à un coût relativement faible provoquant ainsi une déterritorialisation et une dépersonnalisation des échanges. Certains auteurs arguent que cette surabondance g…
Eléments d'analyse économique des faux diplômes
National audience; Bien que peu étudiés, le commerce et l’utilisation des faux diplômes constituent un phénomène en pleine expansion. Leur émergence remonte à un passé lointain, quasi concomitant à la création des vrais diplômes. Après avoir défini la notion de faux diplômes, nous mettons en évidence les différentes catégories de faux diplômes. Cette catégorisation permet de distinguer plusieurs logiques marchandes. Une attention particulière est accordée aux différentes parties prenantes, notamment aux producteurs, consommateurs et victimes des faux diplômes. Cette économie parallèle génère de nombreuses externalités négatives, susceptibles de nuire notamment aux institutions d’éducation n…
An introduction to the Economics of Fake Degrees
08045; International audience; This paper critiques the multifarious ways whereby academic qualifications may be falsified in the international marketplace. The objectives are fourfold: (1) defining the main terms used such as fake degrees and diploma mills; (2) providing a brief history of fake degrees and identifying the factors that explain their recent development; (3) developing a theoretical framework to analyze fake degrees; and (4) exploring the costs and benefits of this activity and its net impacton a given society. Degrees serve instrumental and ceremonial purposes. It is argued that degree holders may be considered as members of a club. They confer totheir holders excludable but…
Transaction costs and private provision of public goods: a survey of french speaking literature
The authors survey the French-speaking literature on the private provision of public goods. As it is now accepted that transaction costs are one of the most important factors to analyze market failures, the authors emphasize particularly transaction cost economics research works. They wrote twelve lecture notes (annex).
Éléments d'analyse économique des faux diplômes
Despite the fact that fake degrees have been used since the creation of legitimate diplomas, the fake degrees business is reaching epidemic proportions, notably because of globalization, new information and communication technologies and “diploma race”. We define the concept of fake degrees and distinguish different kinds of fakes. We also indicate the main functions of diplomas in the economic literature. We identify the supply and demand sides of the market of fake degrees and also consider other affected parties. We show that this growing business generates several negative spillovers that harm, among others, non traditional education institutions such as distance learning institutions a…