PRODUCT RECALLS, IMPERFECT INFORMATION, AND SPILLOVER EFFECTS: LESSONS FROM THE CONSUMER RESPONSE TO THE 2007 TOY RECALLS

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Freedman, Seth; Kearney, Melissa; Lederman, Mara
• 署名单位: University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; Indiana University System; Indiana University Bloomington; University System of Maryland; University of Maryland College Park; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of Toronto
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/REST_a_00162
• 发表日期: 2012-05
• 页码: 499-516
• 关键词: market forces; IMPACT; disclosure; QUALITY; announcements; sellers; choices; demand; safety; WEALTH

摘要

In 2007, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued 212 recalls of toys and other children's products, a sizable increase from previous years. We investigate changes in toy sales following these recalls. We find that for manufacturers that had recalls, unit sales of the types of toys involved in the recall fell relative to their sales of toys in other categories. We do not find evidence of within-manufacturer spillovers to dissimilar toys. We do, however, find large industry-wide spillovers in the form of sales losses to manufacturers that did not experience any recalls. Our results shed light on how consumers may draw inferences from information about product safety.