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<p>We link a novel dataset of ex-vessel swordfish transactions from Japan’s Kesennuma City fish market auction to a sensor-based, continuous freshness index and the gear that caught each fish, then decompose gear price premiums with a two-stage causal mediation framework. Unlike standard hedonic approaches, which often confound production technology with the quality it creates, our approach separates the price transmitted through improved freshness from the direct effects of the fishing gear. We find that a single-equation hedonic approach understates the price penalty for some catch methods and overstates the price premium for others. Buyer-level random-slope estimates show homogeneous willingness to pay for freshness, indicating that imperfect competition depresses price levels but not quality signals. By separating quality-mediated and residual gear effects, the two-stage framework provides a clearer picture of the incentives resource harvesters actually face.</p>

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Production Method and Product Quality in Price Formation: Evidence from Japanese Swordfish Auctions

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月17日

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  • Ryan Kueber,
  • Nobuyuki Yagi

摘要

We link a novel dataset of ex-vessel swordfish transactions from Japan’s Kesennuma City fish market auction to a sensor-based, continuous freshness index and the gear that caught each fish, then decompose gear price premiums with a two-stage causal mediation framework. Unlike standard hedonic approaches, which often confound production technology with the quality it creates, our approach separates the price transmitted through improved freshness from the direct effects of the fishing gear. We find that a single-equation hedonic approach understates the price penalty for some catch methods and overstates the price premium for others. Buyer-level random-slope estimates show homogeneous willingness to pay for freshness, indicating that imperfect competition depresses price levels but not quality signals. By separating quality-mediated and residual gear effects, the two-stage framework provides a clearer picture of the incentives resource harvesters actually face.