The Economics of Cosmetic Pesticide Use
分析农产品质量标准对农药使用的影响，发现更严格的标准在常见条件下可能减少农药需求，并以苹果生产为例验证了分级标准的显著效果。
Abstract It has been argued that so‐called “cosmetic” standards for produce quality increase pesticide use on fruits and vegetables. This paper shows that stricter quality standards unambiguously increase farm‐level pesticide demand only when produce is sold in mixed lots with tolerances for characteristics determined by quality standards and there is no sampling error. Under more commonly encountered conditions, stricter quality standards may reduce pesticide demand. An empirical example of apple production suggests that grading standards have non‐negligible effects and that more stringent grading standards lead to reduced pesticide use under plausible conditions.