Quality

Misattribution prevents learning

In many markets, consumers believe things about products that are not true. We study how incorrect beliefs about product quality can persist even after a consumer has used a product many times. We explore the example of fertiliser in East Africa.

Journal Article
25 Apr 2025

Private Sector Development in Low Income Economies: The Case of Uganda

This project implements a field experiment to unpack demand- and supply-side constraints for quality upgrading in Ugandan carpentry, and study the interaction between these two sources of constraints.

Research Project
28 Oct 2024

Restoring Trust: Evidence from the Fertiliser Market in Tanzania

A lack of trust in product quality can distort markets, reducing demand and investment. Can a low-touch information campaign improve confidence in fertiliser quality in Tanzania, raising demand for a critical agricultural input?

Research Note
29 Aug 2023

Restoring Trust: Evidence from the Fertiliser Market in Tanzania

A lack of reliable information about fertiliser quality depresses farmer demand, reducing crop yields and negatively impacting livelihoods.

Working Paper
25 Aug 2023

Government-led Certification and Quality Complementarity in Developing Country Food Supply Chains

This project studies the impact of government-led mandatory quality certification on quality provision along the supply chain. 

Research Project
1 Apr 2023

Consumer Search and Firm Location: Theory and Evidence from the Garment Sector in Uganda

This paper studies the role of consumer information frictions in driving firms’ location choices within cities.

Working Paper
18 Dec 2022

Information frictions, demand for quality, and welfare in the market for antimalarials

This project investigates the welfare effects of information frictions in the Nigerian antimalarials market

Research Project
1 Aug 2022

Can Informed Buyers Improve Goods Quality? Experimental Evidence from Crop Seeds

High-quality agricultural inputs play an important role in boosting agricultural productivity and supporting food security in low-income countries.

Research Note
20 Apr 2022

Quality Upgrading and Competition: Theory and Evidence from Uganda’s Coffee Sector

This project studies how incentives for quality provision are passed along the domestic supply chains, and how this is affected by market structure within the context of coffee in Uganda.

Research Project
1 Mar 2022

Can informed buyers improve goods quality? Experimental evidence from crop seeds

We study whether adding informed buyers to a market can improve the quality of goods supplied by sellers, in an environment where goods quality is difficult to observe.

Working Paper
20 Jan 2022

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