On the effects of bilateral agreements in world wine trade

During the last decades there have been significant changes in trade regulations that are modifying the global trade of wine. The number of non-tariff measures (NTMs) adopted in the wine sector is relevant. Similarly, a large number of bilateral trade agreements have been adopted. Despite the regulation is heavy, the impact of these policy instruments on trade is not always clear, nor quantified at global scale. We investigate the effects that bilateral NTMs are showing on global imports of wine. In particular, we estimate a gravity model to explain how bilateral NTMs influence wine trade, and we disentangle these effects for different segments of the international market of wine. Our results suggest that bilateral NTMs tend to favour imports of wine. Differences emerge across market segments and types of regulations. In particular, the Technical Barriers to Trade favour (friction) bottled (bulk) wine; pre-shipment inspections enhance imports of bottled wine; the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards are the most trade-enhancing NTMs, regardless of the market segment

A THRESHOLD-VAR APPROACH TO ASSESS THE EFFICACY OF THE EU IMPORT REGIME

The efficacy of the entry price policy in the European fresh fruits and vegetables sector is not well understood. We investigate econometrically the efficacy of the import policy. The analysis estimates a threshold vector autoregressive model using data on imports the main competing country on the European Union domestic markets. Our results allow concluding on the insulating effects induced by the entry price system. We argue that the quota restrictions are likely to provide larger contribution to the domestic market stabilization. Policy implications are provided

The future of bio-based and applied economics

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Global trade dynamics in table grapes

International trade in table grapes has tremendously expanded during the last decades, and grapes are nowadays worldwide produced, traded and consumed. The intensification of trade has been pushed by emerging traders that have changed the economic geography of grapes. Improving competiveness in global markets is a main goal for entrepreneurs and policymakers, and gaining market shares is the medal for winners. We empirically investigate the global dynamics in trade of table grapes from 1961 to 2011. In particular we have characterized the time series properties of the market shares for the leading grapes exporters countries. We have selected a large set of countries that includes the main exporters in the sixties and in the new millennium. We show how trends in market shares of historical exporters and emerging countries have differed during the last decades. Our comparative analysis provides useful insights to forecast the prospects for the international table grapes trade. Particular emphasis has been posed in exploring the tremendous increase of market shares for some countries as Turkey, China, Mexico, India and Egypt, in the Northern Hemisphere and Chile, South Africa Argentina, Brazil and Perù in the Southern Hemisphere

Wine and tourism sectors: looking for synergies

In Italy, wine production has spread throughout the country and in each region is of particular importance from economic, territorial, historical, social, and cultural landscape points of view. Some regions have a higher reputation than others by virtue of both higher volumes of production and established tradition of high quality, with the established image of the territories. Another key sector for the Italian economy is tourism, which, despite involving all the national territory, plays a major role in some regions than in others; this is partly explained by the attractiveness of major art cities and most famous seaside resorts. Our analysis aims at analyzing the synergic relations between the Italian tourism and wine industries. To this extent we adopted an econometric model applied to the most recent available data on flows of domestic tourism among the Italian regions, for a period of five years until 2012

Farmer Participation, Entry and Exit Decisions in the Italian Crop Insurance Programme

The factors affecting the demand for agricultural insurance in the USA have been extensively studied over the last two decades. However, the determinants of a farm's entry and exit decisions in the insurance market have received relatively little attention. Turnover in the insurance book of business is an important issue in most private and public crop insurance plans. Moreover, insurance markets in the EU are still largely under-investigated. We investigate empirically the determinants of crop insurance participation in Italy. We show that the participation rate is high for large firms and that it is negatively correlated with crop diversification, which is itself a form of insurance. High premiums tend to inhibit both entry and exit from the insurance market. Larger and wealthier farms are more likely to adopt insurance and renew coverage over time. We discuss implications of our results for public intervention and the private industry. In particular, we demonstrate that the decision to drop coverage by an insured grower may differ significantly from the corresponding decision to enroll in an insurance programme by an uninsured farmer. To the extent that policymakers want to encourage participation in subsidized crop insurance programmes, education and outreach efforts toward uninsured farmers may differ substantially from those directed toward keeping insured farmers enrolled in the programme. We investigate these differences