The Effect of Information Salience on Product Quality: Louisville Restaurant Hygiene and Yelp.com

In June, 2013, Louisville, Kentucky, announced plans to provide restaurant health inspection scores-already available on the city's website-for publication on Yelp.com. I find that this increased salience caused substantial hygiene improvements among independent Louisville restaurants across three different counterfactual models. Among independent Louisville restaurants, estimates suggest the partnership caused anywhere from a 9-14% relative decrease in inspection score point deductions, with the effect being entirely evident in restaurants' first inspections following the partnership's announcement. Relative to the rest of Kentucky, I find that the partnership significantly reduced rates of severe food poisoning in Louisville.