Dear colleagues,

This is to inform you about a call for papers of the journal Œconomia. 
Read below.

Best

Jean-Sébastien Lenfant


Accounting for “Quality” in Economics


  Editors of the Special Issue

Spencer Banzhaf (North Carolina State University)

Christian Bessy (IDHES, École Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay)

Erwin Dekker (Mercatus Center, George Mason University)

Julien Gradoz (CLERSÉ, Université de Lille)

Jean-Sébastien Lenfant (PRISM, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

Stéphan Marette (INRAE, AgroParisTech)


  Call for papers

Ever since the marginalist revolution, economics has developed as the 
study of equilibria in various market structures and informational 
contexts. According to this view, price and quantity of goods and 
services (assumed to be measurable) are the only two variables to be 
accounted for in the study of market coordination. Within this 
framework, it is presupposed that the nature of the goods and services 
being exchanged is either known from the outset or expected to vary only 
within predetermined, measurable boundaries (such as firms’ location, 
for instance). Over the last century, the most influential schools of 
thought have each applied this view on their own terms, and theoretical 
as well as methodological debates have been bounded by this common tenet 
that the goods to be traded are determined previously to market 
coordination. Challenging this established tenet has been—and still 
is—one of the most complex and demanding tasks for economists to 
address. It is also one of the most necessary.

One such way out of this tenet revolves around the introduction of 
quality as a third variable to be accounted for in market coordination, 
leading to the more sophisticated statement that buyers and sellers of 
qualitatively differentiated goods are both maximizing and objective. 
However, any attempt to introduce quality in economic theory—whether as 
an additional variable or in place of quantity—raises analytical 
difficulties and fundamental questions: Is quality measurable and how? 
Is there a given objective gamut of such qualities and what makes it 
objective? What does quality actually mean? Is this definition amenable 
to some kind of market coordination analysis or does it call for 
alternative institutions to be established? What are the consequences of 
introducing quality for welfare evaluations? Are there shared principles 
to account for quality in economic policy? What have we learned from 
empirical studies on quality and market structures? How does behavioral 
economics change our views about quality and market coordination? Are 
standards and quality labels likely to improve market information on 
quality and market outcomes? What is the role of institutions and market 
intermediaries in the construction of quality?

This set of questions highlights the significant challenge that the 
concept of “quality” poses to the study of market coordination. It also 
opens up a range of avenues for exploration for historians of economics 
and scholars specializing in economic methodology, as well as for 
theoreticians and practitioners involved in issues about quality in 
various fields of economics.

Consider the following salient themes.

_1. Exploring the historical treatment of “quality”_. Research on the 
topic of quality in the history of economic thought is still limited, 
and this call for paper is an occasion to broaden our knowledge of how 
quality was addressed by economists. The period before the 1930sappears 
to be especially understudied.Based on published works, it seems that 
quality has been addressed before the 1930s at the margins of economics, 
in relation to specific policy issues (such as grain trade, standards, 
adulteration, durability) and attempts to build statistical knowledge on 
land or the classifications of socioeconomic variables. This is 
obviously the case for authors interested in agricultural improvements 
as a source of economic progress (The Physiocrats, von Thünen, Linnæus). 
Quality standards are also an important issue in Cameralism and in works 
of the younger German historical school. It is desirable to explore 
these early works. Additionally, the editors welcome contributions on 
the treatment of quality within the marginal revolution, the Progressive 
Era and on how it became a specific issue for economists in the 
1920s-1930s.

_2. The decentralized and multifaceted treatment of quality._Recognizing 
that the role of “quality” in market coordination cannot be disregarded, 
it has been addressed in diverse ways across various fields of 
economics, driven by necessity. Rather than a unified approach that 
introduces quality in an abstract manner into the theory of economic 
equilibrium, quality has been approached in a decentralized, if not 
fragmented, fashion. This decentralization permits distinct 
interpretations of the notion of “quality” and encourages the 
examination of quality as a multifaceted concept in economics. Each 
field tends to engage with quality according to agreed-upon values 
concerning the valuation of goods and concerns about the consequences of 
neglecting quality. Consequently, issues surrounding quality differ 
significantly in fields such as health and environmental economics, 
labor economics, contract theory for public utilities, the economics of 
education, transportation economics, cultural economics, measures of 
growth and productivity, price index measures and national accounting. 
Moreover, whether there are specific treatments of the notion of 
“quality” in the main schools of thought in economics is an important 
issue: neoclassical, neo-institutional, conventionalist, Marxist, Austrian…

_3. Methodological considerations in analyzing quality_. Introducing 
quality in economics prompts reflection on the choice set of economic 
agents, their preferences, firms’ technology, and market boundaries. 
Moreover, when quality has been introduced to solve specific puzzles 
(for instance, the Bertrand paradox, Diamond paradox, Leontief 
paradox…), its introduction can raise new puzzles, notably because 
quality is not necessarily measurable (unlike price and quantity). When 
can quality be treated as comparable to quantity (a tire that last twice 
as long is like two tires)? Is quality objective or subjective?When can 
it be combined across goods to produce final characteristics? When can 
it be inferred from prices? When do attempts to include qualityactually 
reduce the predictive content of economic models (Archibald 1961)? And 
should we then consider these attempts as a vain search forrealism, 
irrelevant from the point of view of economic methodology (Stigler 1949; 
Friedman 1952)?

_4. The normative implications of quality_: Quality is sometimes used as 
synonymous with “characteristics” or as synonymous with what is 
considered “desirable.” Therefore, the mobilization of this notion 
entails both positive and normative aspects. Moreover, quality 
evaluation is connected with the establishment of standards and quality 
labels and plays a fundamental role in market coordination as well as in 
welfare evaluations and policy making. The quality of a utility or of a 
health system has direct implications for the conception of contracts 
and is related to overall welfare judgments implying externalities. A 
comprehensive exploration of the normative aspects shaping the 
construction of quality measures and their significance for market 
coordination is sorely lacking in the literature.

In summary, quality has been an evolving and multifaceted concept in 
various fields of economic thought. To date, few works have explored the 
role given to the concept of quality in economics (examples would 
include Klein 2000; Banzhaf 2001; Stapleford 2011; Wadman 2015; Lupton 
2015). Therefore, this special issue of /Œconomia/ aims to explore the 
historical trajectory of how economists have conceptualized and 
incorporated the concept of “quality” into their theories, methods, and 
policy recommendations.

This special issue aims to provide a set of research papers with a large 
coverage, borrowing from various methodological perspectives. 
Contributions to this special issue can focus on any period and location 
(contributions beyond the United States case are most welcomed). 
Contributions can explore any dimension of economics (theorizing, 
modeling, estimating…) and any fields of economics. A variety of 
approaches is most welcome (monographies, analytical history, 
theoretical modeling, socio-economic approaches, quantitative studies). 
In that sense, the special issue aims to build a systematic, 
context-specific, and broad account of the role that has been given to 
the concept of quality in economics and, further, to draw perspectives 
for future research. Editors of the special issue welcome contributions 
from historians of economics, applied economists, experts wishing to 
reflect on their own practices and on the rules adopted in their 
professional community, or else, reminiscences from economists willing 
to share a retrospective and reflexive insight into the evolution of the 
role given to the concept of quality in economics.

Examples of potential topics for contributions include, but are not 
restricted to:

·The history of the development, dissemination and uses of a particular 
concept or model associated with quality (vertical differentiation, 
hedonic pricing, conventions of quality, Lancasterian characteristics 
approach, productivity, Likert scales, finiteness property, optimal 
product differentiation, quality ladders, durable products, quality 
uncertainty, adverse selection, land rent…).

·The analysis of the methodological issues associated with the 
introduction of the concept of quality in economics (defining the 
concept of “quality,” describing the relations between quality and the 
other economic variables, defining the properties of the “quality 
variable,” the role of subjective evaluation of quality by consumers, 
constructing quality measures…).

·The history of institutions, research groups, or other collective 
actors who have played a specific role in fostering the study of quality 
in economics. Examples would include, among others, the Center for 
Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE), the /RAND Journal of 
Economics/, The Ottawa Group (International Working Group on Price 
Indices), the specialists of monopolistic competition theory, the NBER… 
One could notably consider the role given to quality in the committees 
responsible for economic planning in different places around the world 
and at different times.

·The assessment of the role of a specific contribution in the study of 
quality in economics (Hotelling 1929; Chamberlin 1933; Scitovsky 1944; 
Dorfman and Steiner 1954; Lancaster 1966; Akerlof 1970; Fisher and Shell 
1972; Rosen 1974; Gabszewicz and Thisse 1979; Shaked and Sutton 1982; 
Berry, Levinsohn, and Pakes 1995) or the assessment of the role of an 
individual economist (Edward Chamberlin, Joan Robinson, George 
Archibald, George Stigler, Kelvin Lancaster, Nancy Stokey, Sherwin 
Rosen, Jacques-François Thisse, François Eymard-Duvernay, Jean Jaskold 
Gabszewicz, Margaret Slade, Avinash Dixit, Joseph Stiglitz, Martine 
Quinzii, Jean Tirole, Susan Athey…).

·The role of quality in reshaping specific economic issues or concepts, 
like market power (Sutton 1986), competition (Abbott 1953), the first 
law of demand (Stiglitz 1987), quantity (Leffler 1982), merit goods 
(Musgrave 1959), communication and matching on the market (Spence 1973), 
credence goods (Darby and Karni, 1973)…

·The role given to quality in economic textbooks, e.g., /The Theory of 
Price/ (Stigler 1946); /The Theory of Industrial Organization/ (Tirole 
1988); /A Course in Microeconomic Theory/ (Kreps 1990). Or the treatment 
of quality in the teaching of economics (Adams 2020; 2023).

·The relations between economics and other disciplines on the issue of 
quality: Sociology (Karpik 2010; Beckert and Musselin 2013; Bessy and 
Chauvin 2013; Callon 2021), marketing (Moorthy 1988; Parasuraman, 
Zeithaml, and Berry 1988; Golder, Mitra, and Moorman 2012), psychology 
(Tversky 1972; Green and Srinivasan 1990), operations management 
(Shewhart 1933; Crosby 1979; Deming 1982)…


  Procedure and timeline
  <https://journals.openedition.org/oeconomia/10678#tocfrom1n4>

Researchers who would like to be considered for participation in this 
special issue of /Œconomia/ should submit, via email attachment, the 
title of their paper, an extended (1,000-1,500 words) abstract, and the 
affiliations of all authors. This information should be sent to 
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> by March 
30, 2024, at the latest.

Authors whose contributions are selected by the editors will be notified 
by April 15. Full paper submission on /Œconomia/’s submission platform 
is expected by October 15.

In January 2025, a workshop will be organized at the university Paris 1 
Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris, where authors will be invited to present and 
discuss their papers.

The process of peer review, revision and acceptance of papers is 
expected to end by May 2025 and publication to take place in June 2025.

For further information, please contact the editors of the special issue 
or send a message to [log in to unmask] 
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.

References

Abbott, Lawrence. 1953. Vertical Equilibrium under Pure Quality 
Competition. /The American Economic Review, 43/(5): 826-845.

Adams, Charles. 2020. An Undergraduate Primer on Quality-Differentiated 
Demand. /The American Economist,/ /65/(2): 277-283.

Adams, Charles. 2023. Incorporating Quality-Differentiated Demand into 
the Undergraduate Microeconomics Core. /The American Economist, 68/(2): 
326-335.

Akerlof, George Arthur. 1970. The Market for “Lemons”: Quality 
Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism. /The Quarterly Journal of 
Economics,/ /84/(3): 488-500.

Archibald, George Christopher. 1961. Chamberlin versus Chicago. /The 
Review of Economic Studies, 29/(1): 2-28.

Banzhaf, Spencer. 2001. Quantifying the Qualitative: Quality-Adjusted 
Price Indexes in the United States, 1915-61. /History of Political 
Economy, 33/(1): 345-370.

Beckert, Jens and Christine Musselin (eds). 2013. /Constructing Quality. 
The Classification of Goods in Markets/. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Berry, Steven Titus, James Levinsohn, and Ariel Pakes. 1995. Automobile 
Prices in Market Equilibrium. /Econometrica, 63/(4): 841-890.

Bessy, Christian and Pierre-Marie Chauvin. 2013. The Power of Market 
Intermediaries: From Information to Valuation Processes. /Valuation 
Studies, 1/(1): 83-117.

Callon, Michel. 2021. /Markets in the Making: Rethinking Competition, 
Goods, and Innovation/. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Chamberlin, Edward Hastings. 1933. /The Theory of Monopolistic 
Competition. A Re-Orientation of the Theory of Value./ Cambridge: 
Harvard University Press.

Crosby, Philip Bayard. 1979. /Quality Is Free. The Art of Making Quality 
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Darby, Michael and Edi Karni. 1973. Free Competition and the Optimal 
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Deming, William Edwards. 1982. /Out of the Crisis/. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Dorfman, Robert and Peter Otto Steiner. 1954. Optimal Advertising and 
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Fisher, Franklin Marvin and Karl Shell. 1972. /The Economic Theory of 
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Friedman, Milton. 1952. Comment. In Bernard Francis Haley (ed.), /Survey 
of Contemporary Economics. Volume 2./ Chicago: R. D. Irwin, 455-457.

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Golder, Peter, Debanjan Mitra, and Christine Moorman. 2012. What Is 
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Green, Paul and Seenu Srinivasan. 1990. Conjoint Analysis in Marketing: 
New Developments with Implications for Research and Practice. /Journal 
of Marketing,/ /54/(4): 3-19.

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Karpik, Lucien. 2010. /Valuing the Unique. The Economics of 
Singularities/. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Klein, Judy. 2000. Economics for a Client: The Case of Statistical 
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32/(1): 25-70.

Kreps, David. 1990. /A Course in Microeconomic Theory/. Princeton: 
Princeton University Press.

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/Journal of Political Economy, 74/(2): 132-157.

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Lupton, Sylvie. 2015. Quality Uncertainty in Early Economic Thought. 
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-- 
Professor of Economics, université Paris 1 - Panthéon-Sorbonne
https://jean-sebastien-lenfant-31.webselfsite.net/

Member of PRISM Sorbonne
http://www.prism-sorbonne.fr/

Head of M2 Économie et Sciences Humaines, Université Paris 1 - Panthéon-Sorbonne
https://formations.pantheonsorbonne.fr/fr/catalogue-des-formations/master-M/master-sciences-economiques-et-sociales-KBUS90N2/master-parcours-epistemologie-et-sciences-humaines-KBUSAX76.html   ethttps://rehpere.org/master/#presentation

Editor-in-Chief of Œconomia – History / Methodology / Philosophy
https://journals.openedition.org/oeconomia/?lang=en