Information-based policies, most prominently labels, reveal credence attributes of food products and, presumably, help consumers make better choices by reducing their misperception of product quality. However, much remains unexamined regarding how firms' strategic reactions to consumers' misperception of quality influence the benefits of information-based policies. We consider an oligopoly model where heterogeneous consumers can over-or underestimate the quality of products in the market, and firms choose quality and prices conditional on consumers' perception of quality. We find that, under empirically prevalent conditions, misperception can increase efficiency in relation to the perfect information case; it does so if (1) it strengthens firms' incentives to provide higher quality, countervailing the chronic underprovision of quality that prevails under perfect information, or (2) it galvanizes competition, reversing another deleterious effect of product differentiation, namely high quality-adjusted markups that restrain commerce. Our results imply that information-based policies aimed at curbing misperception, such as requiring or allowing (under voluntary certification) additional information, nudging, and changes in label format, can have deleterious effects on efficiency and, perhaps more importantly, hurt the very consumers they mean to protect.

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Excess phosphorus (P) is a major pollutant in aquatic systems. Phosphorus removal structures, landscape-scale filters designed to capture dissolved P from runoff, drainage, and wastewater offer promise in curbing P pollution. While the environmental benefits of various P removal structures are well documented, the cost-effectiveness of each structure's ability to sequester P is lacking. In this study, we compare the costeffectiveness of P removal of the most prominent P removal structures. Specifically, we calculate the average cost per kilogram (kg) of P removed by eight different P removal structures across a range of parameter assumptions. Absent constraints, we found that (1) larger structures that use (2) regionally available phosphorus sorption materials that are (3) byproducts of industrial production (e.g., metal shavings and steel slag) rather than manufactured are more cost-effective. The average cost of P removal for most structures varies from $100 to 1300 per kg in our baseline estimations, which is comparable to the average cost for wastewater treatment. This work provides further information to guide the optimal implementation of P removal structures for conservationists.

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Consumers’ shifting tastes have made sustainable growth for firms in the food industry increasingly difficult. Scholars and industry practitioners constantly try to develop business strategies to deal with disruptions in modern food markets. This case uses Brazilian company Mantiqueira as an example of how a company can adopt demand-driven innovation and embrace disruption to aid its sustainable growth over the years. We follow the success of Mantiqueira in the market of eggs, from its humble beginnings until its dominance in the Brazilian market. With the use of data, the case (1) shows the current challenges faced by Mantiqueira and (2) asks readers to participate in the next round of decisions that Mantiqueira will have to make in order to hold its market share. This case is intended for use with graduate students and professionals in the agribusiness and food industries. It can be used to develop competencies associated with decision making for agribusiness firms, particularly for those faced with changes in the demand side that require new marketing strategies and capital investments.