柠檬市场：质量的不确定性和市场机制(中英对照)
“柠檬”的市场质量的不确定性和市场机制【外文翻译】
外文翻译原文The market for "lemons": quality uncertainty and the marketmechanismMaterial Source: The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1970Author:GEORGE A. AKERLOFI. INTRODUCTIONThis paper relates quality and uncertainty. The existence of goods of many grades poses interesting and important problems for the theory of markets. On the one hand, the interaction of quality differences and uncertainty may explain important institutions of the labor market. On the other hand, this paper presents a struggling attempt to give structure to the statement: "Business in underdeveloped countries is difficult"; in particular, a structure is given for determining the economic costs of dishonesty. Additional applications of the theory include comments on the structure of money markets, on the notion of "insurability," on the liquidity of durables, and on brand-name goods.There are many markets in which buyers use some market statistic to judge the quality of prospective purchases. In this case there is incentive for sellers to market poor quality merchandise, since the returns for good quality accrue mainly to the entire group whose statistic is affected rather than to the individual seller. As a result there tends to be a reduction in the average quality of goods and also in the size of the market. It should also be perceived that in these markets social and private returns differ, and therefore, in some cases, governmental intervention may increase the welfare of all parties. Or private institutions may arise to take advantage of the potential increases in welfare which can accrue to all parties. By nature, however, these institutions are non atomistic, and therefore concentrations of power with ill consequences of their own can develop.The automobile market is used as a finger exercise to illustrate and developthese thoughts. It should be emphasized that this market is chosen for its concreteness and ease in understanding rather than for its importance or realism.II. THE MODEL WITH AUTOMOBILES AS AN EXAMPLEA.The Automobiles MarketThe example of used cars captures the essence of the problem. From time to time one hears either mention of or surprise at the large price difference between new cars and those which have just left the showroom. The usual lunch table justification for this phenomenon the pure joy of owning a "new" car. We offer a different explanation. Suppose (for the sake of clarity rather than reality) that there are just four kinds of cars. There are new cars and used cars. There are good cars and bad cars (which in America are known as "lemons"). A new car may be a good car or a lemon, and of course the same is true of used cars.The individuals in this market buy a new automobile without knowing whether the car they buy will be good or a lemon. But they do know that with probability q it is a good car and with probability (1-q) it is a lemon; by assumption, q is the proportion of good cars produced and (1-q) is the proportion of lemons.After owning a specific car, however, for a length of time, the car owner can form a good idea of the quality of this machine; i.e., the owner assigns a new probability to the event that his car is a lemon. This estimate is more accurate than the original estimate. An asymmetry in available information has developed: for the sellers now have more knowledge about the quality of a car than the buyers. But good cars and bad cars must still sell at the same price since it is impossible for a buyer to tell the difference between a good car and a bad car. It is apparent that a used car cannot have the same valuation as a new car .if it did have the same valuation, it would clearly be advantageous to trade a lemon at the price of new car, and buy another new car, at a higher probability q of being good and a lower probability of being bad. Thus the owner of a good machine must be locked in. Not only is it true that he cannot receive the true value of his car, but he cannot even obtain the expected value of a new car.Gresham's law has made a modified reappearance. For most cars traded will bethe "lemons," and good cars may not be traded at all. The "bad" cars tend to drive out the good (in much the same way that bad money drives out the good). But the analogy with Gresham's law is not quite complete: bad cars drive out the good because they sell at the same price as good cars; similarly, bad money drives out good because the exchange rate is even. But the bad cars sell at the same price as good cars since it is impossible for a buyer to tell the difference between a good and a bad car; only the seller knows. In Gresham's law, however, presumably both buyer and seller can tell the difference between good and bad money. So the analogy is instructive, but not complete .B. Asymmetrical InformationIt has been seen that the good cars may be driven out of the market by the lemons. But in a more continuous case with different grades of goods, even worse pathologies can exist. For it is quite possible to have the bad driving out the not-so-bad driving out the medium driving out the not-so-good driving out the good in such a sequence of events that no market exists at all. One can assume that the demand for used automobiles depends most strongly upon two variables the price of the automobile p and the average quality of used cars traded, a, or Q = D (p, A). Both the supply of used cars and also the average quality p will depend upon the price, or p=j (p) and S=S(p). And in equilibrium the supply must equal the demand for the given average quality, or S(p) = D (p, p (p)). As the price falls, normally the quality will also fall. And it is quite possible that no goods will be traded at any price level.Such an example can be derived from utility theory. Assume that there are just two groups of traders: groups one and two. Give group one a utility functionnU1= M+ ∑X ii=1where M is the consumption of goods other than automobiles, X1 is the quality of the I.T.H automobile, and N is the number of automobiles. Similarly, letnU2= M+ ∑X3/2X ii=1where M, X1, and N are defined as before. Three comments should be made about these utility functions: (1) without linear utility (say with logarithmic utility) one gets needlessly mired in algebraic complication. (2) The use of linear utility allows a focus on the effects of asymmetry of information; with a concave utility function we would have to deal jointly with the usual risk variance effects of uncertainty and the special effects we wish to discuss here. (3) U1 and U2 have the odd characteristic that the addition of a second car, or indeed a KTH car, adds the same amount of utility as the first. Again realism is sacrificed to avoid a diversion from the proper focus.To continue, it is assumed (1) that both type one traders and type two traders are V on Neumann Morgenstern maximizers of expected utility; (2) that group one has N cars with uniformly distributed quality x, 0<x <2, and group two has no cars; (3) that the price of "other goods" M is unity.Denote the income (including that derived from the sale of automobiles) of all type one traders as Y1 and the income of all type two traders as Y2. The demand for used cars will be the sum of the demands by both groups. When one ignores indivisibility, the demand for automobiles by type one traders will be D1=Y1/p μ/p>lD1=O μ/ p<l.And the supply of cars offered by type one traders isS2= PN/2 p≤2with average qualityi= p/2.(To derive (1) and (2), the uniform distribution of automobile quality is used.) Similarly the demand of type two traders isD2 = Y2/P 3μ/2 > pD2 =0 3μ/2 < pandS2 =0.Thus total demand D (p, μ) isD (p, μ) = (Y2+ Y1)/P if p <μD (p, μ) = Y2/p if μ< p <3μ/2D(p, μ）=0 if p>3μ/2.However, with price p, average quality is p/2 and therefore at no price will anytrade take place at all: in spite of the fact that at any given price between 0 and 3 there are traders of type one who are willing to sell their automobiles at a price which traders of type two are willing to pay.C. Symmetric Information The foregoing is contrasted with the case of symmetric information. Suppose that the quality of all cars is uniformly distributed, O<x<2. Then the demand curves and supply curves can be written as follows SupplyS(p) =N p>1S(p)=O p<1.And the demand curves areD(p) = (Y2+M ay)/P p<1D(p) = (Y2/p) l<p<3/2D(p) = 0 p > 3/2.In equilibriump=1 if Y2<NP=Y2/N if 2Y2/3<N<Y2p =3/2 if N<2Y2/3.If N <Y2 there is a gain in utility over the case of asymmetrical information of N/2. (If N> Y2, in which case the income of type two traders is insufficient to buy all N automobiles, there is a gain in utility of Y2/2 units.Finally, it should be mentioned that in this example, if traders of groups one and two have the same probabilistic estimates about the quality of individual automobiles though these estimates may vary from automobile to automobile(3), (4), and (5) will still describe equilibrium with one slight change: p will then represent the expected price of one quality unit.III. EXAMPLES AND APPLICATIONSA.InsuranceIt is a well-known fact that people over 65 have great difficulty in buying medical insurance. The natural question arises: why doesn't the price rise to match the risk?Our answer is that as the price level rises the people who insure themselves will be those who are increasingly certain that they will need the insurance; for error in medical check-ups, doctors' sympathy with older patients, and so on make it much easier for the applicant to assess the risks involved than the insurance company. The result is that the average medical condition of insurance applicants deteriorates as theprice level rises with the result that no insurance sales may take place at any price.' This is strictly analogous to our automobiles case, where the average quality of used cars supplied fell with a corresponding fall in the price level. This agrees with the explanation in insurance textbooks:Generally speaking policies are not available at ages materially greater than sixty-five.... The term premiums are too high for any but the most pessimistic (which is to say the least healthy) insureds to find attractive. Thus there is a severe problem of adverse selection at these ages.The statistics do not contradict this conclusion. While demands for health insurance rise with age, a 1956 national sample survey of 2,809 families with 8,898 persons shows that hospital insurance coverage drops from 63 per cent of those aged 45 to 54, to 31 per cent for those over 65. And surprisingly, this survey also finds average medical expenses for males aged 55 to 64 of $88, while males over 65 pay an average of $77.3 While non insured expenditure rises from $66 to $80 in these age groups, insured expenditure declines from $105 to $70. The conclusion is tempting that insurance companies are particularly wary of giving medical insurance to older people.The principle of "adverse selection" is potentially present in all lines of insurance. The following statement appears in an insurance textbook written at the What's School:There is potential adverse selection in the fact that healthy term insurance policy holders may decide to terminate their coverage when they become older and premiums mount. This action could leave an insurer with an undue proportion of below average risks and claims might be higher than anticipated. Adverse selection "appears (or at least is possible) whenever the individual or group insured has freedom to buy or not to buy, to choose the amount or plan of insurance, and to persist or to discontinue as a policy holder."Group insurance, which is the most common form of medical insurance in the United States, picks out the healthy, for generally adequate health is a precondition for employment. At the same time this means that medical insurance is least available to those who need it most, for the insurance companies do their own "adverse selection."This adds one major argument in favor of medicare. On a cost benefit basis medicare may pay off: for it is quite possible that every individual in the market would be willing to pay the expected cost of his medicare and buy insurance, yet no insurance company can afford to sell him a policy for at any price it will attract toomany "lemons." The welfare economics of medicare, in this view, is exactly analogous to the usual classroom argument for public expenditure on roads.B. The Employment of MinoritiesThe Lemons Principle also casts light on the employment of minorities. Employers may refuse to hire members of minority groups for certain types of jobs. This decision may not reflect irrationality or prejudice but profit maximization. For race may serve as a good statistic for the applicant's social background, quality of schooling, and general job capabilities.Good quality schooling could serve as a substitute for this statistic; by grading students the schooling system can give a better indicator of quality than other more superficial characteristics. As T. W. Schultz writes, "The educational establishment discovers and cultivates potential talent. The capabilities of children and mature students can never be known until found and cultivated." An untrained worker may have valuable natural talents, but these talents must be certified by "the educational establishment" before a company can afford to use them. The certifying establishment, however, must be credible; the unreliability of slum schools decreases the economic possibilities of their students.This lack may be particularly disadvantageous to members of already disadvantaged minority groups. For an employer may make a rational decision not to hire any members of these groups in responsible positions because it is difficult to distinguish those with good job qualifications from those with bad qualifications. This type of decision is clearly what George Stigler had in mind when he wrote, "in a regime of ignorance Enrico Fermi would have been a gardener, V on Neumann a checkout clerk at a drugstore."As a result, however, the rewards for work in slum schools tend to accrue to the group as a whole in raising its average quality rather than to the individual. Only insofar as information in addition to race is used is there any incentive for training.An additional worry is that the Office of Economic Opportunity is going to use cost-benefit analysis to evaluate its programs. For many benefits may be external. The benefit from training minority groups may arise as much from raising the average quality of the group as from raising the quality of the individual trainee; and, likewise, the returns may be distributed over the whole group rather than to the individual.C. The Costs of DishonestyThe Lemons model can be used to make some comments on the costs of dishonesty. Consider a market in which goods are sold honestly or dishonestly;quality may be represented, or it may be misrepresented. The purchaser's problem, of course, is to identify quality. The presence of people in the market who are willing to offer inferior goods tends to drive the market out of existence as in the case of our automobile "lemons." It is this possibility that represents the major costs of dishonesty for dishonest dealings tend to drive honest dealings out of the market. There may be potential buyers of good quality products and there may be potential sellers of such products in the appropriate price range; however, the presence of people who wish to pawn bad wares as good wares tends to drive out the legitimate business. The cost of dishonesty, therefore, lies not only in the amount by which the purchaser is cheated; the cost also must include the loss incurred from driving legitimate business out of existence.Dishonesty in business is a serious problem in underdeveloped countries. Our model gives a possible structure to this statement and delineates the nature of the "external" economies involved. In particular, in the model economy described, dishonesty, or the misrepresentation of the quality of automobiles, costs 1/2 unit of utility per automobile; furthermore, it reduces the size of the used car market from N to 0. We can, consequently, directly evaluate the costs of dishonesty at least in theory.There is considerable evidence that quality variation is greater in underdeveloped than in developed areas. For instance, the need for quality control of exports and State Trading Corporations can be taken as one indicator. In India, for example, under the Export Quality Control and Inspection Act of 1963, "about 85 per cent of Indian exports are covered under one or the other type of quality control." Indian housewives must carefully glean the rice of the local bazaar to sort out stones of the same color and shape which have been intentionally added to the rice. Any comparison of the heterogeneity of quality in the street market and the canned qualities of the American supermarket suggests that quality variation is a greater problem in the East than in the West.In one traditional pattern of development the merchants of the preindustrial generation turn into the first entrepreneurs of the next. The best documented case is Japan,but this also may have been the pattern for Britain and America.In our picture the important skill of the merchant is identifying the quality of merchandise; those who can identify used cars in our example and can guarantee the quality may profit by as much as the difference between type two traders' buying price and type one traders' selling price. These people are the merchants. In production these skills are equally necessary both to be able to identify the quality of inputs and to certify the quality ofoutputs. And this is one (added) reason why the merchants may logically become the first entrepreneurs.The problem, of course, is that entrepreneurship may be a scarce resource; no development text leaves entrepreneurship unemphasized. Some treat it as central.Given, then, that entrepreneurship is scarce, there are two ways in which product variations impede development. First, the pay-off to trade is great for would be entrepreneurs, and hence they are diverted from production; second, the amount of entrepreneurial time per unit output is greater, the greater are the quality variations.MARKET FOR "LEMONS": AND MARKET MECHANISM 497 D. Credit Marketing Underdeveloped Countries（1）Credit markets in underdeveloped countries often strongly reflect the operation of the Lemons Principle. In India a major fraction of industrial enterprise is controlled by managing agencies (according to a recent survey, these "managing agencies" controlled 65.7 per cent of the net worth of public limited companies and 66 per cent of total assets).3 Here is a historian's account of the function and genesis of the "managing agency system":The management of the South Asian commercial scene remained the function of merchant houses, and a type of organization peculiar to South Asia known as the Managing Agency. When a new venture was promoted (such as a manufacturing plant, a plantation, or a trading venture), the promoters would approach an established managing agency. The promoters might be Indian or British, and they might have technical or financial resources or merely a concession. In any case they would turn to the agency because of its reputation, which would encourage confidence in the venture and stimulate investment.In turn, a second major feature of the Indian industrial scene has been the dominance of these managing agencies by caste (or, more accurately, communal) groups. Thus firms can usually be classified according to communal origin.5 In this environment, in which outside investors are likely to be bilked of their holdings, either (1) firms establish a reputation for "honest" dealing, which confers upon them a monopoly rent insofar as their services are limited in supply, or (2) the sources of finance are limited to local communal groups which can use communal and possibly familial ties to encourage honest dealing within the community. It is, in Indian economic history, extraordinarily difficult to discern whether the savings of rich landlords failed to be invested in the industrial sector (1) because of a fear to invest in ventures con-trolled by other communities, (2) because of inflated propensities toconsume, or (3) because of low rates of return. At the very least, however, it is clear that the British-owned managing agencies tended to have an equity holding whose communal origin was more hetero-gorgeous than the Indian-controlled agency houses, and would usually include both Indian and British investors.（2）A second example of the workings of the Lemons Principle concerns the extortionate rates which the local moneylender charges his clients. In India these high rates of interest have been the lead-mon factor in landless; the so-called "Cooperative Movement" was meant to counteract this growing landless by setting up banks to compete with the local moneylenders.While the large banks in the central cities have prime interest rates of 6, 8, and 10 per cent, the local moneylender charges 15, 25, and even 50 per cent. The answer to this seeming paradox is that credit is granted only where the granter has (1) easy means of enforcing his contract or (2) personal knowledge of the character of the borrower. The middleman who tries to arbitrage between the rates of the moneylender and the central bank is apt to attract all the "lemons" and thereby make a loss.This interpretation can be seen in Sir Malcolm Darling's interpretation of the village moneylender's power:It is only fair to remember that in the Indian village the moneylender is often the one thrifty person amongst a generally thriftless people; and that his methods of business, though demoralizing under modern conditions, suit the happy-go-lucky ways of the peasant. He is always accessible, even at night; dispenses with troublesome formalities, asks no inconvenient questions, advances promptly, and if interest is paid, does not press for repay-meet of principal. He keeps in close personal touch with his clients, and in many villages shares their occasions of weal or woe. With his intimate knowledge of those around him he is able, without serious risk, to finance those who would otherwise get no loan at all.Or look at Barbara Ward's account:A small shopkeeper in a Hong Kong fishing village told me: "I give credit to anyone who anchors regularly in our bay; but if it is someone I don't know well, then I think twice about it unless I can find out all about him.Or, a profitable sideline of cotton ginning in Iran is the loaning of money for the next season, since the ginning companies often have a line of credit from Teheran banks at the market rate of interest. But in the first years of operation large losses are expected from unpaid debts due to poor knowledge of the local scene.IV. COUNTERACTING INSTITUTIONSNumerous institutions arise to counteract the effects of quality uncertainty.One obvious institution is guarantees. Most consumer durables carry guarantees to ensure the buyer of some normal expected quality. One natural result of our model is that the risk is borne by the seller rather than by the buyer.A second example of an institution which counteracts the effects of quality uncertainty is the brand-name good. Brand names not only indicate quality but also give the consumer a means of retaliation if the quality does not meet expectations. For the con-sumer will then curtail future purchases. Often too, new products are associated with old brand names. This ensures the prospective consumer of the quality of the product.consumer of the quality of the product. Chains such as hotel chains or restaurant chains are similar to brand names. One observation consistent with our approach is the chain restaurant. These restaurants, at least in the United States, most often appear on interurban highways. The customers are seldom local. The reason is that these well-known chains offer a better hamburger than the average local restaurant; at the same time, the local customer, who knows his area，can usually choose a place he prefers.place he prefers. Licensing practices also reduce quality uncertainty. For in-stance, there is the licensing of doctors, lawyers, and barbers. Most skilled labor carries some certification indicating the attainment of certain levels of proficiency. The high school diploma, the Dacca-laureate degree, the Ph.D., even the Nobel Prize, to some degree, serve this function of certification. And education to some degree, serve this function of certification. And education and labor mar-bets themselves have their own "brand names."V. CONCLUSIONWe have been discussing economic models in which "trust" is important. Informal unwritten guaranteed re preconditioning r trade and production. Where these guarantees are indefinite, business will suffer -as indicated by our generalized Gresham's law. This aspect of uncertainty has been explored by game theorists, as in the Prisoner's Dilemma, but usually it has not been incorporated in the more traditional Arrow-Dealer approach to june-dainty.2 But the difficulty of distinguishing good quality from bad is inherent in the business world; this may indeed explain many economic institutions and may in fact be one of the more important aspects of uncertainty.译文“柠檬”的市场:质量的不确定性和市场机制资料来源:《经济学季刊》,1970 作者：乔治•a•阿克尔洛夫 I介绍本文认为质量和不确定性有着某种联系，许多不同东西的存在提出了关于市场理论的有趣和重要的问题来讨论。
信息市场均衡的实际例子
信息市场均衡的实际例子“柠檬”在美国俚语中表示“次品”或“不中用的东西”所以，柠檬市场(The Market for Lemons)也称次品市场。
1970年，31岁的著名经济学家乔治·阿克洛夫发表了《柠檬市场：质量不确定和市场机制》的论文，对柠檬市场进行了具体分析，所以，柠檬市场也称阿克洛夫模型。
对于柠檬市场，主流的结论是：由于信息不对称，往往好的商品遭受淘汰，而劣等品会逐渐占领市场，从而取代好的商品，导致市场中都是劣等品，并最终导致市场消亡。
其分析的思路是：柠檬市场由于交易一方并不知道商品的真正价值，只能通过市场上的平均价值来判断平均质量，由于难以分清商品好坏，因此也只愿意付出平均价格。
由于商品有好有坏，对于平均价格来说，提供好商品的自然就要吃亏，提供坏商品的便得益。
于是好商品便会逐步退出市场。
由此导致市场商品平均质量下降，于是平均价格也会进一步下降，最后市场就只剩下坏商品。
对于上述分析思路，研究者往往通过举旧车市场的例子来进一步验证分析结论。
比如，有研究者做如下分析 ：假设市场中好车与坏车并存，每100辆二手车中有50辆质量较好的、50辆质量较差，质量较好的车在市场中的价值是30万元，质量较差的价值10万元（尽管经过维修，换新后）。
二手车市场的特性是卖方（经销商或原车主）知道自己的车是好车或坏车，但买方在买卖交易时无法分辨。
在买方无法确知车子的好坏时，聪明的卖方知道，无论自己手中的车是好车还是坏车，宣称自己的车是为“好车”一定是最好的策略（反正买方无法分辨）。
尽管市场中有一半好车、一半坏车。
但如果你去问车况，卖方必有一个统一的答案——我们的车是好车。
但消费者真的会以好车的价格向卖方买车吗？不会！买方知道，他买的车有一半几率是好车、有一半几率是坏车，因此最高只愿出价20万元（20=10×1/2+30×1/2）买车。
此时进一步发生的事情是，市场拥有的好车的原车主开始惜售，一台30万元的好车却只能卖到20万元，有一些车主宁愿留下自用，亦不愿忍痛割爱，因此好车逐渐退出市场。
柠檬市场：质量的不确定性与市场机制
２００１年诺贝尔经济学奖得主—乔治·阿克洛夫经济学思想述评瑞典皇家科学院于10月10日宣布，将本年度诺贝尔经济学奖授予美国经济学家乔治·阿克洛夫、迈克尔·斯宾塞和约瑟夫·斯蒂格利茨，以表彰他们运用不对称信息理论研究市场经济所取得的成就。
众所周知，诺贝尔经济学奖认可的都是经过实践检验的理论成果，而经济学理论成果经过实践检验被认为是正确的，通常需要20、30年。
此次获奖三人的理论成果主要集中在20世纪70年代。
他们的获奖意味着国际上正式承认其理论具有广泛的应用价值。
瑞典皇家科学院在其新闻公报中称，许多市场都存在信息不对称现象：买卖的一方往往掌握比另一方更多的信息。
借款人比贷款人更了解自己的还贷潜力，企业经理和董事会比股民更了解企业的未来，客户比保险公司更了解他们发生事故的风险率。
而一个市场经济的有效运作，需要买者和卖者之间拥有充分的共同信息。
如果信息不对称现象非常严重，那么就有可能限制市场功能的发挥，在极端情况下，会使整个市场不存在。
此次获奖的三位经济学家分别从产品市场、劳动力市场、保险及资金市场等领域探讨了信息不对称问题，指出市场体制需要完善、设计。
这是对传统经济学的重大突破。
他们的研究揭示了当代信息经济的核心问题，奠定了关于市场经济不对称信息理论的基础，其分析理论用途广泛，既适用于对传统的农业市场的分析研究，也适用于对现代金融的分析研究。
本文主要是对乔治·阿克洛夫的一些主要经济思想进行简单的评述，以便大家更深刻地了解这位世界一流的经济学家。
一、乔治·阿克洛夫生平简介乔治·阿克洛夫(George A.Akerlof)1940年出生于美国康涅狄州纽黑文，现年61岁；1962年，在耶鲁大学获得学士学位；4年后在麻省理工学院获得博士学位。
他曾担任伦敦经济学院货币银行专业的经济学教授、经济顾问委员会高级经济学家、布鲁金斯小组(Brooking Panel)经济问题高级顾问和美国经济联合会副主席；现任加州大学伯克利分校经济学教授。
柠檬市场：质量的不确定性和市场机制(中英对照)
The Markets for “Lemons”:Quality uncertainty and The Market Mechanism柠檬市场：质量的不确定性和市场机制Geogre A. Akerlof 阿克洛夫一、引言This paper relates quality and uncertainty. The existence of goods of many grades poses interesting and important problems for the theory of markets.（本文论述的是质量和不确定性问题。
现实中存在大量多种档次的物品给市场理论提出了饶有趣味而十分重大的难题）On the one hand, the interaction of quality differences and uncertainty may explain important institutions of the labor market.（一方面，质量差异和不确定性的相互作用可以解释劳动力的重要机制）On the other hand, this paper presents a struggling attempt to give structure to the statement: "Business in under-developed countries is difficult"; in particular, a structure is given for determining the economic costs of dishonesty.（另一方面，本文试图通过讨论获得这样的结论：在不发达国家，商业交易是困难的，其中，特别论及了欺骗性交易的经济成本）Additional applications of the theory include comments on the structure of money markets, on the notion of "insurability," on the liquidity of durables, and on brand-name goods.（本文的理论还可以用来研究货币市场、保险可行性、耐用品的流动性和名牌商品等问题）There are many markets in which buyers use some market statistic to judge the quality of prospective purchases.（在许多市场中，买者利用市场的统计数据来判断他们将要购买的商品的质量）In this case there is incentive for sellers to market poor quality merchandise, since the returns for good quality accrue mainly to the entire group whose statistic is affected rather than to the individual seller. As a result there tends to be a reduction in the average quality of goods and also in the size of the market.（在这种情况下，卖者有动力提供低质量商品，因为某种商品的价格主要取决于所有同类商品质量的统计数据而非该商品的实际质量。
the market for lemons解读
the market for lemons解读
柠檬市场（The Market for Lemons）是一个经济学概念，它指的是信息不对称的市场，即买卖双方对商品或服务的真实信息了解程度不同。
柠檬市场中的买家通常对商品或服务的质量不确定，因此他们可能会根据平均质量来决定价格，从而使得高质量的产品或服务因为价格过高而难以出售，而低质量的产品或服务则可能以高价出售。
这个概念来源于美国俚语中的“柠檬”，表示“次品”或“不中用的东西”。
在柠檬市场中，由于信息不对称，买家往往难以判断商品或服务的质量，因此他们可能会采取平均质量的预期来决定价格。
这种平均质量的预期价格可能会使得高质量的商品或服务难以出售，因为他们无法与低质量的商品或服务区分开来。
柠檬市场的存在对经济效率和市场秩序产生了一定的影响。
它可能导致市场上的优质商品或服务被排挤出市场，而低质量的产品或服务则可能占据主导地位。
这不仅影响了市场的公平性和竞争性，还可能导致市场的萎缩和消失。
为了解决柠檬市场的问题，需要采取一些措施来增加市场的透明度和信息对称性。
例如，政府可以加强监管和信息披露要求，提高市场的透明度；卖家也可以采取一些措施来增加商品或服务的可追溯性和质量保证，从而增强买家的信心。
此外，买家也可以通过提高自身的信息获取能力和风险意识，来降低信息不对称的影响。
柠檬市场：质量的不确定性和市场机制(中英对照)
The Markets for “Lemons”:Quality uncertainty and The Market Mechanism柠檬市场:质量的不确定性与市场机制Geogre A、Akerlof 阿克洛夫一、引言This paper relates quality and uncertainty、The existence of goods of many grades poses interesting and important problems for the theory of markets、(本文论述的就是质量与不确定性问题。
现实中存在大量多种档次的物品给市场理论提出了饶有趣味而十分重大的难题)On the one hand, the interaction of quality differences and uncertainty may explain important institutions of the labor market、(一方面,质量差异与不确定性的相互作用可以解释劳动力的重要机制)On the other hand, this paper presents a struggling attempt to give structure to the statement: "Business in under-developed countries is difficult"; in particular, a structure is given for determining the economic costs of dishonesty、(另一方面,本文试图通过讨论获得这样的结论:在不发达国家,商业交易就是困难的,其中,特别论及了欺骗性交易的经济成本)Additional applications of the theory include comments on the structure of money markets, on the notion of "insurability," on the liquidity of durables, and on brand-name goods、(本文的理论还可以用来研究货币市场、保险可行性、耐用品的流动性与名牌商品等问题)There are many markets in which buyers use some market statistic to judge the quality of prospective purchases、(在许多市场中,买者利用市场的统计数据来判断她们将要购买的商品的质量)In this case there is incentive for sellers to market poor quality merchandise, since the returns for good quality accrue mainly to the entire group whose statistic is affected rather than to the individual seller、As a result there tends to be a reduction in the average quality of goods and also in the size of the market、(在这种情况下,卖者有动力提供低质量商品,因为某种商品的价格主要取决于所有同类商品质量的统计数据而非该商品的实际质量。
金融学的作业展示：《逆向选择和道德风险》
基本思想：
“柠檬”在美国俚语中表示次品、不中用的东西，由阿克洛夫 首先引入经济学著作。
信息经济学将由于非对称信息而导致交易一方面临不利的选择环境，称 为“逆向选择”。
二手产品市场中，低质量产品将高质量产品排挤出市场的主要原因是
——它们都在相同的价格水平上出售。
基本模型——二手汽车市场原理
假设存在这样一个二手汽车市场，有100人希望出售他们的旧汽车， 同时又有100人想买旧汽车，买主和卖主都知道这些旧汽车中高质量与低 质量的汽车各占50%。 拥有最高质量和最低质量旧汽车的卖主的预期售价分别为2000和 1000美元，而最高质量和最低质量旧汽车的潜在买主的预期支付价格则 分别为2400和1200美元。 如果信息对称且充分，买主不难确定旧汽车的质量，该市场不存在 什么问题。低质量旧汽车将按1000～1200美元之间的价格出售，高质量 旧汽车将按2000～2400美元之间的价格交易。
道德风险
获2001年度诺贝尔经济学奖的斯蒂格里茨在研究保险市场时，发现了一 个经典的例子： 美国一所大学学生自行车被盗比率约为10%，有几个有经营头脑的学生发 起了一个对自行车的保险，保费为保险标的15%。按常理，这几个有经营头脑 的学生应获得5%左右的利润。但该保险运作一段时间后，这几个学生发现自 行车被盗比率迅速提高到15%以上。何以如此？
阿克洛夫创造的旧汽车（柠檬商品的质量依赖于价格。
这是“便宜没好货”的标准经济学解释；
2）非对称信息导致市场上买主和卖主的数量要比完全信 息结构下少得多，甚至非常少，因而交易市场的运行是低效率的； 3）逆向选择可能导致市场失灵。
不同类型的产品，逆向选择的程度往往不同。 标准化产品： ——煤炭、钢铁、木材 一般产品： ——化妆品、家具、装饰材料 二手产品： （可进行期货交易）
中文版-柠檬市场：质量的不确定性和市场机制
“柠檬”市场：质量的不确定性和市场机制乔治·阿克洛夫关键词：信息经济学；质量不确定性；市场机制；“柠檬市场”；信息不对称一. 引言本文论述的是质量和不确定性问题。
多种档次的物品给市场理论提出了有趣而又重要的问题。
一方面，质量差异和不确定性的相互作用可以解释某些重要的劳动市场制度。
另一方面，本文力求对如下主张，即“在不发达国家做生意是因难的”给出一个模型。
尤其是要给出一个用于确定不诚实的经济成本的模型。
理论的应用还包括对货币市场结构、不可保险性、耐用品的流动性以及品牌产品的评论。
在许多市场中，购买者总是利用某些市场统计数据来判断欲购商品的质量。
在这种情况下，销售者就有动机销售劣质商品，因为从优质商品中受益的主要是其统计数据受影响的销售者整体而不是单个销售者。
结果是，产品的平均质量往往会下降，市场规模相缩小。
还应该看到的是，在这些市场中，社会收益和私人收益是有差别的，因此，在某些情况下，政府干预可以增加各方的福利。
或者是，私人制度可能会产生，以利用各方潜在的福利增长。
但是，这些制度并不是孤立分散的(Nonatomistic)。
因此，权力的集中有可能形成——这就是制度本身带来的不良后果。
本文试图用汽车市场来阐述上述思想。
应该强调的是，之所以选择汽车市场，是因为它非常具体并且易于理解，而不是因为它的重要性或现实性。
二. 以汽车为例的模型1．汽车市场旧车市场的例子说明了问题的本质。
用以解释这种现象的常见理由是，拥有一辆新车可以带来快乐，而我们却给出了另一种解释。
假定(为了说明问题，而不是现实情况)市场中只有4种汽车，即新车和旧车，好车和次品车(在美国，也称之为“柠檬”)。
新车有可能是好车，也有可能是次品车；当然，旧车也是如此。
人们在上述市场中购买一辆新车时，并不知道他所购买的汽车是好车还是次品车。
但是，假定在生产出来的汽车中，好车的比例为q, 次品车的比例为1-q. 则买主必定知道买到好车的概率为q, 买到次品车的概率为1-q.然而。
柠檬市场：质量的不确定性与市场机制
２００１年诺贝尔经济学奖得主—乔治·阿克洛夫经济学思想述评瑞典皇家科学院于10月10日宣布，将本年度诺贝尔经济学奖授予美国经济学家乔治·阿克洛夫、迈克尔·斯宾塞和约瑟夫·斯蒂格利茨，以表彰他们运用不对称信息理论研究市场经济所取得的成就。
众所周知，诺贝尔经济学奖认可的都是经过实践检验的理论成果，而经济学理论成果经过实践检验被认为是正确的，通常需要20、30年。
此次获奖三人的理论成果主要集中在20世纪70年代。
他们的获奖意味着国际上正式承认其理论具有广泛的应用价值。
瑞典皇家科学院在其新闻公报中称，许多市场都存在信息不对称现象：买卖的一方往往掌握比另一方更多的信息。
借款人比贷款人更了解自己的还贷潜力，企业经理和董事会比股民更了解企业的未来，客户比保险公司更了解他们发生事故的风险率。
而一个市场经济的有效运作，需要买者和卖者之间拥有充分的共同信息。
如果信息不对称现象非常严重，那么就有可能限制市场功能的发挥，在极端情况下，会使整个市场不存在。
此次获奖的三位经济学家分别从产品市场、劳动力市场、保险及资金市场等领域探讨了信息不对称问题，指出市场体制需要完善、设计。
这是对传统经济学的重大突破。
他们的研究揭示了当代信息经济的核心问题，奠定了关于市场经济不对称信息理论的基础，其分析理论用途广泛，既适用于对传统的农业市场的分析研究，也适用于对现代金融的分析研究。
本文主要是对乔治·阿克洛夫的一些主要经济思想进行简单的评述，以便大家更深刻地了解这位世界一流的经济学家。
一、乔治·阿克洛夫生平简介乔治·阿克洛夫(George A.Akerlof)1940年出生于美国康涅狄州纽黑文，现年61岁；1962年，在耶鲁大学获得学士学位；4年后在麻省理工学院获得博士学位。
他曾担任伦敦经济学院货币银行专业的经济学教授、经济顾问委员会高级经济学家、布鲁金斯小组(Brooking Panel)经济问题高级顾问和美国经济联合会副主席；现任加州大学伯克利分校经济学教授。
“柠檬”市场：质量不确定和市场机制
《“柠檬”市场：质量不确定性与市场机制》一、课堂讲解作者乔治·阿克洛夫的写作风格很鲜明，他喜欢用简单模型、简单事例说明重要的经济学问题。
他毕业于麻省理工大学，在学期间十分关注种族歧视问题、心理学以及人类学，他的这些关注点在文中也有一些体现，例如，少数民族就业、道德风险等。
我们在学习这篇文章时，不仅要了解作者观点，还要与前一篇文章《信息经济学》联系起来读。
其实无论阅读那篇经济学文章，我们都应该将文章中的理论与客观实际相联系，将文中理论放置于整个经济学框架中，带着全局观去看问题。
乔治从在引言中就阐明观点：质量不确定性光靠市场机制是无法解决的，还需要其他补充机制。
这其实就是一个假说，作者接下来要为自己的假说进行证实。
我们先关注这样几个问题：这篇论文的题目中“柠檬”是什么？柠檬就是低质量的商品；那什么是“柠檬”市场？它就是市场中充斥着低质量商品，而高质量商品不被交易的情形。
他首先举出一个二手车市场的例子。
二手车市场中汽车质量参差不齐，但由于买者在买车时无法区分汽车质量，所以无论高质量车还是“柠檬”出同样价格购买。
但卖者对汽车质量情况了于指掌，这就产生了信息不对称，此时卖者肯定先卖出质量低的车，高质量车根本不会卖出。
这样，低质量车就将高质量车逐出市场，最终二手车市场将不复存在。
这是为什么呢？因为低质量车会继而将质量较好、质量中等、质量再稍差的汽车依次逐出市场。
如图所示，一般来说，质量越好价格越高，但由于信息不对称，所有质量高于Q1的汽车，即质量差的车将质量高于Q1的车逐降到P2，同上次一样，质量在Q1到Q2之间的汽车逐出市无法成交，该市场最终不复存在。
本文还举出很多“柠檬”市场的例证。
如，保险，无论在哪一价格水平上，保险合同的购买者都有太多“柠檬”，导致保险公司的承担的过多本不应由它承担的风险，保险公司将不会继续开展此类保险业务；再如，少数民族就业问题，招聘公司由于不了解少数民族求职者的工作能力、社会背景、道德素质等方面信息，故为少数民族求职者提供同一薪酬，这使其中能力强者放弃进入该公司的机会，而能力弱者或许留在这个人才市场中寻找职位。
柠檬市场：质量的不确定性和市场机制(中英对照)
The Markets for “Lemons”:Quality uncertainty and The Market Mechanism柠檬市场:质量的不确定性和市场机制Geogre A。
Akerlof 阿克洛夫一、引言This paper relates quality and uncertainty. The existence of goods of many grades poses interesting and important problems for the theory of markets。
（本文论述的是质量和不确定性问题。
现实中存在大量多种档次的物品给市场理论提出了饶有趣味而十分重大的难题）On the one hand, the interaction of quality differences and uncertainty may explain important institutions of the labor market.(一方面，质量差异和不确定性的相互作用可以解释劳动力的重要机制）On the other hand，this paper presents a struggling attempt to give structure to the statement: ”Business in under-developed countries is difficult”; in particular, a structure is given for determining the economic costs of dishonesty。
(另一方面，本文试图通过讨论获得这样的结论：在不发达国家，商业交易是艰难的,其中,特殊论及了欺骗性交易的经济成本）Additional applications of the theory include comments on the structure of money markets，，and on brand—name goods。
Uncertainty(质量不确定)
Question
How can these producers provide highquality goods when asymmetric information will drive out high-quality goods through adverse selection. Answer
Precontract Postcontract Percentage Change
All Players Renewed players Free agents
4.73 4.76 4.67
12.55 9.68 17.23
165.4 103.4 268.9
15
Lemons in Major League Baseball
18
Market Signaling
Strong Signal
To be effective, a signal must be easier for high quality sellers to give than low quality sellers. Example
Highly productive workers signal with educational attainment level.
The Market for Insurance
Automobile Insurance
Questions
What impact does asymmetric information and adverse selection have on insurance rates and the delivery of automobile accident insurance? How can the government reduce the impact of adverse selection in the insurance industry?
柠檬市场[试题]
![柠檬市场[试题]](https://img.taocdn.com/s3/m/65f47f37ae45b307e87101f69e3143323968f5e3.png)
柠檬市场"柠檬"在美国俚语中表示"次品"或"不中用的东西"."柠檬"市场是次品市场的意思.当产品的卖方对产品质量比买方有更多信息时.柠檬市场会出现,低质量产品会不断驱逐高质量产品。
著名经济学家乔治·阿克尔罗夫以一篇关于"柠檬市场"的论文摘取了2001年的诺贝尔经济学奖，并与其他两位经济学家一起奠定了"非对称信息学"的基础。
该论文曾经因为被认为“肤浅”，先后遭到三家权威的经济学刊物拒绝。
几经周折，该论文才得以在哈佛大学的《经济学季刊》上发表，结果立刻引起巨大反响。
柠檬市场(The Market for Lemons)也称次品市场，也称阿克洛夫模型。
是指信息不对称的市场，即在市场中，产品的卖方对产品的质量拥有比买方更多的信息。
在极端情况下，市场会止步萎缩和不存在，这就是信息经济学中的逆向选择。
柠檬市场效应则是指在信息不对称的情况下,往往好的商品遭受淘汰,而劣等品会逐渐占领市场,从而取代好的商品,导致市场中都是劣等品.二手车市场的案例起因阿克罗夫在其1970年发表的《柠檬市场:产品质量的不确定性与市场机制》中举了一个二手车市场的案例。
指出在二手车市场，显然卖家比买家拥有更多的信息，两者之间的信息是非对称的。
买者肯定不会相信卖者的话，即使卖家说的天花乱坠。
买者惟一的办法就是压低价格以避免信息不对称带来的风险损失。
买者过低的价格也使得卖者不愿意提供高质量的产品，从而低质品充斥市场，高质品被逐出市场，最后导致二手车市场萎缩。
过程为了清楚的说明这个现象，我们假设市场中好车与坏车并存，每100辆二手车中有50辆质量较好的、50辆质量较差，质量较好的车在市场中的价值是30万元，质量较差的价值10万元（尽管经过维修，换新后）。
二手车市场的特性是卖方（经销商或原车主）知道自己的车是好车或坏车，但买方在买卖交易时无法分辨。
第十讲 柠檬市场问题
（二）产品差别与收益递增： Spence-Dixit-Stiglitz模型
• 结论：产品的差别可能来自于消费者喜 结论： 欢多样性。并且， 欢多样性。并且，它们用垄断竞争模型 把产品差别和收益递增结合起来考虑。 把产品差别和收益递增结合起来考虑。
二、信息经济学与阿克洛夫的经济学贡献 （一）博弈论 研究在互动情形下人们的理性决策行为。 研究在互动情形下人们的理性决策行为。 特点： 事情的最终结果是所有人的策略或行 特点：A.事情的最终结果是所有人的策略或行 动导致的； 动导致的； • B.博弈者知道或相信什么特别重要； 博弈者知道或相信什么特别重要； 博弈者知道或相信什么特别重要 • C.博弈的解由博弈的物理结构与信息结构共同决 博弈的解由博弈的物理结构与信息结构共同决 定。 • • • •
• 汽车是典型的“经验商品”，用得越久 汽车是典型的“经验商品” 了解越深。因此， 了解越深。因此，二手车的卖主对自己 汽车的质量非常了解， 汽车的质量非常了解，而二手车的买主 对汽车的质量并不清楚， 对汽车的质量并不清楚，二手车质量是 卖主的私有信息。私有信息的存在， 卖主的私有信息。私有信息的存在，是 信息不对称的根源。 信息不对称的根源。
• 这种“按平均质量出价、部分退出、于 这种“按平均质量出价、部分退出、 是降低出价、再部分退出、再降低出价、 是降低出价、再部分退出、再降低出价、 再部分退出”的过程， 再部分退出”的过程，叫做逆向选择 （adverse selection）。 ）。 • 平常我们说“选”，总是淘汰差的剩下 平常我们说“ 好的，上述过程却相反，是把好的赶跑， 好的，上述过程却相反，是把好的赶跑， 差的剩下，所以叫做逆向选择。 差的剩下，所以叫做逆向选择。
二、Michael Spence教授 的其他贡献
第五章逆向选择。
• 乔治.阿克洛夫：开拓了信息 经济学一个新的研究领域：以 分析市场机制不完备为核心的 逆向选择理论。
•1970年，《柠檬市场：产品 质量的不确定性与市场机制》 （The Market for Lemons: Quality Uncertainty and the Market mechanism， Quarterly J. Econ.89: 488-500, 1970.）
该过程的供求分析，可表示为下图：
价格60 000C B Nhomakorabea40 000
20 000
A
图1.1 旧车市场：完全失灵
O
20 000 40 000 60 000
平均质量
给定价格P，愿意出售的旧车的质量处于 , P ，因此，市场
上旧车的平均质量与价格之间的关系可表示为：
E( | P) 0.5 0.5P 10000 0.5P 20000 P 60000 （1.2）
平均质量
市场的均衡价格要高于20000元，有一部分较低质量的旧车 能够实现交易。
但这个结果仍意味着最高质量的那些旧车总是最难达 成交易。因为此时只有卖方自己知道手里的是好货， 但市场无法分辨，只能按总体情况出一个中间价格， 而该价格很可能是卖方不能接受的。这正是基本模型 所揭示的本质所在。
2、卖方评价不同
（2）非对称信息 由于旧车质量服从【20000，60000】的均匀分布，所以旧车 的平均质量为40000元；
此情形下，买方能出的最高价为40000元，而卖方不 会出售质量在40000元以上的旧车；
预期到该情形，买方对旧车的平均质量的期望相应下 调到30000元，于是质量在30000元以上的旧车退出市 场，买方出价再次下调，该过程一直持续到所有的旧 车全部退出市场，市场交易为零。
柠檬模型概述
《柠檬市场:产品质量的不确定性与市场机制》阿科洛夫1.柠檬市场(The Market for Lemons)的定义也称次品市场，也称阿克洛夫模型。
是指信息不对称的市场，即在市场中，产品的卖方对产品的质量拥有比买方更多的信息。
在极端情况下，市场会止步萎缩和不存在，这就是信息经济学中的逆向选择。
柠檬市场效应则是指在信息不对称的情况下，往往好的商品遭受淘汰,而劣等品会逐渐占领市场，从而取代好的商品，导致市场中都是劣等品。
2.柠檬市场的表现。
柠檬市场的存在是由于交易一方并不知道商品的真正价值，只能通过市场上的平均价格来判断平均质量，由于难以分清商品好坏，因此也只愿意付出平均价格。
由于商品有好有坏，对于平均价格来说，提供好商品的自然就要吃亏，提供坏商品的便得益。
于是好商品便会逐步退出市场。
由于平均质量有因此下降，于是平均价格也会下降，真实价值处于平均价格以上的商品也逐渐退出市场，最后就只剩下坏商品。
在这个情况下，消费者便会认为市场上的商品都是坏的，就算面对一件价格较高的好商品，都会持怀疑态度，为了避免被骗，最后还是选择坏商品。
这就是柠檬市场的表现。
乔治·阿克尔罗夫在其发表的《柠檬市场:产品质量的不确定性与市场机制》的论文中举了一个二手车市场的案例。
指出在二手车市场，显然卖家比买家拥有更多的信息，两者之间的信息是非对称的。
买者肯定不会相信卖者的话，即使卖家说的天花乱坠。
买者唯一的办法就是压低价格以避免信息不对称带来的风险损失。
买者过低的价格也使得卖者不愿意提供高质量的产品，从而低质品充斥市场，高质品被逐出市场，最后导致二手车市场萎缩。
（假设）阿克洛夫用一个简单的例子来说明他的观点。
假设一种产品以不可分割的单位进行买卖，并且具有固定比例λ和1－λ的低和高两种质量。
每个买者潜在地有兴趣购买一辆汽车，但在购买时无法识别两种质量之间的区别。
所有的买者对两种质量作出相同的估价：对买者来说低质量的车值WL美元，而高质量的车值WH美元，且WH>WL。
平狄克《微观经济学》(第7版)习题详解(第17章 信息不对称市场)
平狄克《微观经济学》（第7版）第17章信息不对称市场复习笔记跨考网独家整理最全经济学考研真题，经济学考研课后习题解析资料库，您可以在这里查阅历年经济学考研真题，经济学考研课后习题，经济学考研参考书等内容，更有跨考考研历年辅导的经济学学哥学姐的经济学考研经验，从前辈中获得的经验对初学者来说是宝贵的财富，这或许能帮你少走弯路，躲开一些陷阱。
以下内容为跨考网独家整理，如您还需更多考研资料，可选择经济学一对一在线咨询进行咨询。
1．质量不确定性和“柠檬”市场（1）旧车市场：柠檬问题阿克洛夫在1970年提出的分析旧车市场的“柠檬”（次货或二手货）模型，拉开了信息不对称在商品市场上应用的序幕，开创了逆向选择理论的先河：在旧车市场上，只有卖者知道车的真实质量，买者只知道车的平均质量，因而只愿意根据平均质量支付价格；而在一辆旧车的任一价格上，那些最差的次品车的主人最急于将他们的车出手；当买主把这些次品买回家后，才会逐渐发现它的缺陷；一段时间后，买主能够接受的旧车的平均价格会下降，那些持有缺陷最少的车的车主这时会认为还是将车留着自己用更为合算；这意味着，那些还留在市场上出售的汽车的平均质量又进一步降低了。
因此说，随着价格的下降，存在着逆向选择效应：质量高于平均水平的卖者会退出交易，只有质量低的卖者才会进入市场。
当产品的卖方对产品质量比买方有更多信息时，柠檬市场可能出现，使低质量商品驱逐高质量商品。
（2）不对称信息的含义不对称信息指市场上买卖双方所掌握的信息是不对称的，一方掌握的信息多些，一方掌握的信息少些。
包括两种情况：有些市场卖方所掌握的信息多于买方，商品市场和要素市场上都有这种情况；有些市场买方所掌握的信息多于卖方，保险与信用市场上有这种情况。
当购买者或者出售者交易时没有充分的信息来确定产品的真实质量，从而不同质量的产品以同一价格出售时，逆向选择就出现了。
结果，市场上就有太多的低质量产品和太少的高质量产品出售。
阿克罗夫定律
阿克罗夫定律柠檬市场（The Market for Lemons）也称次品市场，也称阿克罗夫模型。
是指信息不对称的市场，即在市场中，产品的卖方对产品的质量拥有比买方更多的信息。
在极端情况下，市场会止步萎缩和不存在，这就是信息经济学中的逆向选择。
“柠檬”在美国俚语中表示“次品”或“不中用的东西”。
柠檬市场效应则是指在信息不对称的情况下，往往好的商品遭受淘汰，而劣等品会逐渐占领市场，从而取代好的商品，导致市场中都是劣等品。
有关柠檬市场的例子：例一来自乔治·阿克尔罗夫在其发表的《柠檬市场：产品质量的不确定性与市场机制》的论文中举了一个二手车市场的案例。
我们假设市场中好车与坏车并存，每100辆二手车中有50辆质量较好的、50辆质量较差，质量较好的车在市场中的价值是30万元，质量较差的价值10万元（尽管经过维修，换新后）。
二手车市场的特性是卖方（经销商或原车主）知道自己的车是好车或坏车，但买方在买卖交易时无法分辨。
在买方无法确知车子的好坏时，聪明的卖方知道，无论自己手中的车是好车还是坏车，宣称自己的车是为“好车”一定是最好的策略（反正买方无法分辨）。
尽管市场中有一半好车、一半坏车。
但如果你去问车况，卖方必有一个统一的答案——我们的车是好车。
但消费者真的会以好车的价格向卖方买车吗？不会！买方知道，他买的车有一半概率是好车、有一半概率是坏车，因此最高只愿出价20万元（20=10x1/2+30x1/2）买车。
此时不幸的事情陆续发生，市场拥有的好车的原车主开始惜售，一台30万元的好车却只能卖到20万元，有一些车主宁愿留下自用，亦不愿忍痛割爱，因此好车逐渐退出市场。
当部分好车退出市场时，情况变得更糟。
举例而言，当市场中的好、坏车比例由1：1降到1：3时，消费者此时只愿花15万元（10x3/4+30x1/4）买车，车市中成交价降低（由20万降至15万）迫使更多的好车车主退出买卖，到最后，车市中只剩下坏车在交易，买卖双方有一方信息不完全，因而形成了一种市场的无效率性（好车全部退出市场）。
- 1、下载文档前请自行甄别文档内容的完整性，平台不提供额外的编辑、内容补充、找答案等附加服务。
- 2、"仅部分预览"的文档,不可在线预览部分如存在完整性等问题,可反馈申请退款(可完整预览的文档不适用该条件!)。
- 3、如文档侵犯您的权益，请联系客服反馈,我们会尽快为您处理(人工客服工作时间：9:00-18:30)。
The Markets for “Lemons”:Quality uncertainty and The Market Mechanism柠檬市场：质量的不确定性和市场机制Geogre A. Akerlof 阿克洛夫一、引言This paper relates quality and uncertainty. The existence of goods of many grades poses interesting and important problems for the theory of markets.（本文论述的是质量和不确定性问题。
现实中存在大量多种档次的物品给市场理论提出了饶有趣味而十分重大的难题）On the one hand, the interaction of quality differences and uncertainty may explain important institutions of the labor market.（一方面，质量差异和不确定性的相互作用可以解释劳动力的重要机制）On the other hand, this paper presents a struggling attempt to give structure to the statement: "Business in under-developed countries is difficult"; in particular, a structure is given for determining the economic costs of dishonesty.（另一方面，本文试图通过讨论获得这样的结论：在不发达国家，商业交易是困难的，其中，特别论及了欺骗性交易的经济成本）Additional applications of the theory include comments on the structure of money markets, on the notion of "insurability," on the liquidity of durables, and on brand-name goods.（本文的理论还可以用来研究货币市场、保险可行性、耐用品的流动性和名牌商品等问题）There are many markets in which buyers use some market statistic to judge the quality of prospective purchases.（在许多市场中，买者利用市场的统计数据来判断他们将要购买的商品的质量）In this case there is incentive for sellers to market poor quality merchandise, since the returns for good quality accrue mainly to the entire group whose statistic is affected rather than to the individual seller. As a result there tends to be a reduction in the average quality of goods and also in the size of the market.（在这种情况下，卖者有动力提供低质量商品，因为某种商品的价格主要取决于所有同类商品质量的统计数据而非该商品的实际质量。
结果，商品的平均质量将趋于下降，市场规模将不断缩小）It should also be perceived that in these markets social and private returns differ, and therefore, in some cases, governmental intervention may increase the welfare of all parties. Or private institutions may arise to take advantage of the potential increases in welfare which can accrue to all parties.（我们还可以观察到在这种市场上，对个人和社会有不同的回报，因此，某种情况下，政府的干预可以增进社会的总体福利水平。
或者说，私人组织利用了整个社会福利水平潜在的增长机会而使自己获利）By nature, however, these institutions are nonatomistic, and therefore concentrations of power- with ill consequences of their own-can develop.（实际上，这些私人组织的行动所产生的影响并非可以忽略不计，因此，尽管集权本身有许多负面影响，但是，一定程度上的集权可以保证经济的健康发展）The automobile market is used as a finger exercise to illustrate and develop these thoughts. It should be emphasized that this market is chosen for its concreteness and ease in understanding rather than for its importance or realism.（下面，我们用汽车市场作为例子来阐释和进一步发展以上的思想。
需要指出的是，之所以选择旧车市场来讨论，是因为这个例子很具体，并且容易理解，而不是因为它的重要性和有何现实意义）二、以汽车市场模型为例（一）汽车市场The example of used cars captures the essence of the problem. From time to time one hears either mention of or surprise at the large price difference between new cars and those which have just left the showroom. The usual lunch table justification for this phenomenon is the pure joy of owning a "new" car.（旧车市场的例子可以抓住问题的本质。
人们不止一次的听说或惊讶于新车与刚刚开出样品陈列室的汽车之间的价格存在巨大差别。
对于这种情况最普遍的解释是人们有一种对“新”车的特别偏好）We offer a different explanation. Suppose (for the sake of clarity rather than reality) that there are just four kinds of cars. There are new cars and used cars. There are good cars and bad cars (which in America are known as "lemons"). A new car may be a good car or a lemon, and of course the same is true of used cars.（假设（作出这种假设只是为了简化分析，而非从实际出发）用四种汽车：新车和旧车；高质量的车和低质量的车（低质量的车在美国被称为“柠檬”）。
一辆新车可能是高质量的，也可能是“柠檬”，当然一辆旧车也同样有两种情况）The individuals in this market buy a new automobile without knowing whether the car they buy will be good or a lemon. But they do know that with probability q it is a good car and with probability (1-q) it is a lemon; by assumption, q is the proportion of good cars produced and (1 - q) is the proportion of lemons.（在这样的市场上，消费者买新车时并不知道车辆到底是高质量的还是“柠檬”，但是他知道这辆车是高质量的概率是q，是“柠檬”的概率是“1-q”。
这里假设q是高质量车占所有汽车的比率，1-q是“柠檬”的比率）After owning a specific car, however, for a length of time, the car owner can form a good idea of the quality of this machine; i.e., the owner assigns a new probability to the event that his car is a lemon. This estimate is more accurate than the original estimate.（车主在拥有汽车后一段时间内就会了解到该车的质量，也就是说，此时车主可以赋予该车可能是“柠檬”的一个概率值，这个估计比初始的估计更加准确）An asymmetry in available information has developed: for the sellers now have more knowledge about the quality of a car than the buyers. But good cars and bad cars must still sell at the same price- since it is impossible for a buyer to tell the difference between a good car and a bad car.（于是，信息不对称发生了：卖主掌握了比买主更多的关于汽车质量的信息。