Abstract
This paper analyses the impact of labelling in a context where the products come
from a rather long supply chain. We consider a case where there is an information
problem about the product quality in the downstream part of the chain, but not in the
upstream part. We show that the implementation of a label to solve this information
problem affects the competition in the upstream part of the chain. In particular,
competition may be soften up to a point where both the high and the low quality
upstream suppliers both benefit from labelling while all the intermediary producers or
final consumers loose from labelling. This result is established on the basis of a simple
model with two vertically related markets (a competitive downstream market which
is supplied by an upstream duopoly) and where the quality of the output downstream
is determined by the quality of the input upstream. This analysis is informative to
understand the impact of labelling in different cases concerning the agricultural sector
(poultry meat, GMOs).