农产品质量分级与消费者福利:原理、现实及政策含义

Agriculture Product Quality Grading and Consumers’ Welfare:Theory,Practice and Policy Implication

随着人均收入水平的提高,消费者对农产品的关注日益由数量转向质量。基于消费者偏好差异的农产品质量分级,理论上可以提高消费者福利,反过来也会激励农业生产者优化资源配置,促进我国农业现代化。而美国农产品质量分级的实际情况表明,由于分级标准的制定由生产者和贸易者决定,并且消费者偏好难以把握,现行分级大多数是满足流通之需而不是从满足消费者偏好差异出发,不过这种情形正在发生改变。

As people’s income rises, consumers have paid more attention to agriculture product quality than quantity. Based on consumers’ preference difference, agriculture product quality grading can improve consumers’ welfare and then motivates farmers to optimize resources inputs, which change the traditional agriculture to modern one. The practice of agriculture product grading in America shows that the main goal of grading is to facilitate trade not to fulfill consumers’ preference difference. However, the situation is changing now. The theory and practice about agriculture product quality grading and consumers’ welfare will give some policy implication for agriculture product grading in China.