abilities. Universities choose grading standards to maximize the total wages of graduates, taking into account how the grading … lower grading standards than is socially optimal, exploiting the fact that firms cannot distinguish between “good” and “bad …” “A”s, while worse universities set excessively strict grading standards. In particular, a social planner finds it optimal …

brand products as being of higher quality outside the USDA grading program. Between 1994 and 2002, the share of all … consumer welfare by approximately 2% of beef expenditure. The second essay, 'Grading and Quality Certification in Beef … of the USDA beef quality grading and certification programs is provided and related to the model. The third essay, 'When …