概要

This article examines eco-labelling in the UK retail market, addressing two research questions: does pricing vary across competing eco-labels, and to what extent does pricing differ between retailers? The researchers use a dataset of salmon prices from eight different UK retilers, estimating a price-attribute model including Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and organic eco-labels, and one country-of-origin label (Scottish). The researchers find that prices vary substatially across eco-labels, and that premiums for each label vary across retail chains. The premium for MSC-certified salmon was found to be high in the low-end retail chains, but statistically insignificant in high-end chains, whereas the premiums for organic-certified salmon had a similar magnitude across retailers. The researchers conclude that unfounded presumption of retailer homogeneity could lead to over- or under-estimation of a label's price premium.