Packaging of sin goods – Commitment or exploitation?

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
Year: 2016
Volume: 122
Issue: C
Pages: 62-74

Authors (2)

Christensen, Else Gry Bro (not in RePEc) Nafziger, Julia (Aarhus Universitet)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We consider the shopping and consumption decision of an individual with a self-control problem. The consumer believes that restricting the consumption of a sinful product (such as chips) is in his long-run interest. But when facing the actual decision he is tempted to overeat. We ask how firms react to such self-control problems, and possibly exploit them, by offering different package sizes. In a competitive market, either one or three package sizes are offered. In contrast to common intuition, the large, and not the small package might be a commitment device. The latter may serve to exploit the naive consumer.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jeborg:v:122:y:2016:i:c:p:62-74
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-26