Akerlof is perhaps best known for his article, "The Market for Lemons: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism", published in Quarterly Journal of Economics in 1970, in which he identified certain severe problems that afflict markets characterized by asymmetric information, the paper for which he was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize.
Akerlof este probabil foarte cunoscut datorită articolului său, The Market for Lemons: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism (Piața lămâilor: Incertitudinea asupra calității și mecanismul pieței), publicat în Quarterly Journal of Economics în 1970, în care a identificat problemele majore care pot afecta piețele caracterizate de informație asimetrică.