The Market for Lemons
E1046130
The Market for Lemons is a seminal 1970 economics paper that introduced the concept of information asymmetry to explain how quality uncertainty can cause markets to break down.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| The Market for Lemons: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism | 1 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
academic paper
ⓘ
economics paper ⓘ microeconomics paper ⓘ |
| addressesProblem | failure of competitive markets under asymmetric information ⓘ |
| author | George Akerlof NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| citedFor |
analysis of quality uncertainty in used car markets
ⓘ
formalization of adverse selection in markets ⓘ |
| contributesTo |
theory of adverse selection
ⓘ
theory of information economics ⓘ theory of market failure ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| defines |
lemons as low-quality goods
ⓘ
peaches as high-quality goods ⓘ |
| explains |
how asymmetric information can cause market breakdown
ⓘ
how low prices drive high-quality goods out of the market ⓘ how only low-quality goods remain traded ⓘ how quality uncertainty lowers average price ⓘ how sellers know more about product quality than buyers ⓘ |
| field |
economics
ⓘ
microeconomics ⓘ |
| focusesOn | used car market ⓘ |
| hasImpact | changed understanding of how information affects markets ⓘ |
| hasJELClassification |
D80
ⓘ
D82 ⓘ |
| influencedField |
contract theory
ⓘ
financial economics ⓘ health economics ⓘ industrial organization ⓘ labor economics ⓘ |
| introducesTerm | lemons ⓘ |
| isConsidered |
classic paper in microeconomics
ⓘ
seminal paper in information economics ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| mainConcept |
adverse selection
ⓘ
information asymmetry ⓘ market failure ⓘ quality uncertainty ⓘ |
| originalTitle | The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| proposes | that average quality in a market can decline due to information asymmetry ⓘ |
| publicationYear | 1970 ⓘ |
| publishedIn | Quarterly Journal of Economics NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for George Akerlof
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
moral hazard ⓘ screening ⓘ signaling ⓘ |
| shows | that some markets may not exist when quality is uncertain ⓘ |
| usesExample | used cars ⓘ |
| yearFirstCirculated | 1967 ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
The Market for Lemons: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism