The Highest Form of Flattery

A preliminary study focused on counterfeit sales in China — the source of all those fake handbags in Chinatown and just about everywhere else — suggests that in many cases the sale of fakes may not be so bad for legitimate brands. The study, by Northwestern economist Yi Qian, examined the counterfeit market in the wake of well-publicized cases of food poisoning and exploding gas tanks in China, when enforcement efforts were diverted from policing fashion copycats and toward monitoring drugs, food, and gas. Counterfeit factories flourished, but surprisingly, this led to an increase in sales for high-end products in the years that followed — via redwolf.newsvine.com