A Theory of Fraud and Overtreatment in Experts Markets |
| |
Authors: | Ingela Alger François Salanié |
| |
Institution: | Economics Department Boston College 140 Commonwealth Avenue Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA; Universitéde Toulouse (LERNA-INRA) Manufacture des Tabacs Aile Jean-Jacques Laffont 21 Allées de Brienne 31 000 Toulouse, France |
| |
Abstract: | Consumers often rely on an expert's diagnosis to assess their needs. If the expert is also the seller of services, he may use his informational advantage to induce overtreatment, which is a pervasive phenomenon in experts markets. We offer and discuss conditions leading to equilibrium overtreatment in an otherwise purely competitive model. This market failure results from consumers' ability to turn down an expert's recommendation: experts defraud consumers to keep them uninformed, as this deters them from seeking a better price elsewhere. |
| |
Keywords: | |
|
|