We study quality upgrading in informal markets through two experiments with street-food vendors and consumers in India. First, we define quality in terms of food safety and develop a context-specific measurement framework. Second, we show that consumers are willing to pay substantial premiums for cleanliness. Third, we implement a vendor-level intervention that lowers upgrading costs and enhances the ability to signal quality through sanitation-related equipment. The intervention improves food-safety practices and profits, but effects are modest and fade over time. Fixed pricing norms and local environmental constraints appear central, consistent with a moral hazard model where cleanliness is not profitable.
Brown, C. & Tommasi, D. (2025). Quality Upgrading in the Street Food Market: Is Better Equipment and Training Sufficient?. IZA Discussion Paper, 18328.
Chicago
Caitlin Brown and Denni Tommasi. "Quality Upgrading in the Street Food Market: Is Better Equipment and Training Sufficient?." IZA Discussion Paper, No. 18328 (2025).
Harvard
Brown, C. and Tommasi, D., 2025. Quality Upgrading in the Street Food Market: Is Better Equipment and Training Sufficient?. IZA Discussion Paper, 18328.
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