OUP accepted manuscript
研究了在质量不可观察的市场中，卖方和买方发起的第三方认证如何影响透明度，发现卖方认证更有利于社会透明度且利润更高。
In markets with quality unobservable to buyers, third-party certification is often the only instrument to increase transparency. While both sellers and buyers have a demand for certification, its role differs fundamentally: sellers use it for signalling, buyers use it for inspection. Seller-induced certification leads to more transparency, because it is informative—even if unused. By contrast, buyer-induced certification incentivizes certifiers to limit transparency, as this raises demand for inspection. Whenever transparency is socially beneficial, seller certification is preferable. It also yields certifiers larger profits, so that regulating the mode of certification is redundant.