“Fair” Price and Professional Reputation: a Double Challenge for Public Timber Auctions

Varia
By Gérard Marty
English

In France, the fixing of prices of public timber lots, sold during auctions by the National Forests Office (onf), is problematic due to the lots’ singularity. Based on an ethnographic study, this article shows that auctions lead the participants to come to a consensus on the “fair” price of the lots. Thanks to this social practice, experts put their reputation at risk when it comes to the evaluation of lots and the control of auction procedures.

Keywords

  • singular goods
  • public timber
  • auction
  • national forests office
  • price
Go to the article on Cairn-int.info