The Effect of Information Salience on Product Quality: Louisville Restaurant Hygiene and Yelp.com*
研究发现，将餐厅卫生检查分数在Yelp.com上公开，显著改善了独立餐厅的卫生状况，并降低了严重食物中毒发生率。
In June, 2013, Louisville, Kentucky, announced plans to provide restaurant health inspection scores—already available on the city’s website—for publication on Yelp.com . I find that this increased salience caused substantial hygiene improvements among independent Louisville restaurants across three different counterfactual models. Among independent Louisville restaurants, estimates suggest the partnership caused anywhere from a 9‐14% relative decrease in inspection score point deductions, with the effect being entirely evident in restaurants’ first inspections following the partnership’s announcement. Relative to the rest of Kentucky, I find that the partnership significantly reduced rates of severe food poisoning in Louisville.