A deal can go bad just because one side knows more than the other

A health insurer rarely knows an applicant's habits as well as the applicant does; a used-car seller knows the car's history far better than any buyer. When one party to a trade holds information the other lacks, markets can misprice risk, collapse into low-quality offerings, or need entirely new institutions, like warranties and credit scores, just to function at all.

— George Akerlof, The Market for Lemons: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism — Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1970

One credited idea per card. No filler. Swipe the rest in Savvy.

Keep swiping — it's free Works right in your browser. No app store needed.

More Economics

All Economics cards →
More from George A. Akerlof →

Five ideas worth knowing, every week

The week's best cards and a puzzle, credited as always. Free, unsubscribe any time.