Governance Reform of German food safety regulation: Cosmetic or real?

Discussion of institutional changes made by the German government in response to the emergence of the first cases of BSE in Germany in 2000. Due to the establishment of a large-scale private sector quality assurance scheme, regulation moved away from publicly mandated food safety regulations toward industry-led initiatives (so-called QS system). The paper discusses whether changes in regulation, administration, and liability standards have improved the effectiveness and the allocative efficiency of German food safety regulation.standards, contested governance, quality assurance, liability, food safety regulation, QS system, regulation, Germany

THE VALUATION OF LABELLING ATTRIBUTES IN A WINE MARKET

The values which market participants place on labelling information in the British wine retail market are investigated using a hedonic framework. The results suggest a near asymmetric evaluation of labelling attributes between wines from the 'New World' (Australia) and wines from the 'Old World' (France). The benefits of studying the valuation of attribute information within the hedonic framework are demonstrated in two steps. First, the revenue impact of shifts in attributes is examined at the retail level. Second, the welfare impact of changes in the attribute choice set facing consumers is considered.Marketing,

Regional food clusters and government support for clustering: Evidence for a ‘dynamic food innovation cluster’ in Alberta, Canada?

Location-based clusters and virtual cluster configurations have received significant attention from policymakers due to their potential implications on productivity, innovation and regional growth. This paper presents a short review of studies that have analyzed clustering activity in the food sectors of several countries. The key insights from these studies with regard to the underlying factors for clustering success are contrasted with empirical evidence from the food processing sector of Alberta, Canada. This includes the presentation of results from an exploratory firm-level survey on government support for clustering activity in Alberta’s food. Considering the level of government support for innovation, the limited access to supporting business infrastructure, and the lack of effective networking between industry stakeholders, we find little evidence for an emerging innovation cluster in Alberta’s food industry.regional clusters, food processing, government support for innovation, Canada

Have policy distortion spilled overacross wine markets ? : evidence from the french wine sector

This paper investigates cross-market effects of policy instruments that were implemented in the table and quality wine market as one of the pillars of market intervention in Europe’s Common Market Organisation (CMO) for wine. We explore two hypotheses regarding the spill-over of distillation policy distortions and quality downgrading. Empirical evidence from France, the largest producer of quality wines in Europe, provides support for the hypothesis that distillation policy distortions in the quality wine market have spilledover to the table wine market. As predicted by our second hypothesis, we find evidence for quality downgrading, a phenomenon that has so far received little attention in the wine economics literature.Common market organization for wine, distillation, spill-over effects, quality downgrading, France, heterogeneous panel

A Comparative Analysis of US and Canadian Consumers' Perceptions Towards BSE Testing and the use of GM Organisms in Beef Production: Evidence from a Choice Experiment

Replaced with revised version of paper 07/24/07.choice experiments, multinomial logit, beef labeling, Livestock Production/Industries, D12, L66, C35,

Regional Food Clusters and Government Support for Clustering: Evidence for a ‘Dynamic Food Innovation Cluster’ in Alberta, Canada?

This paper analyzes government support for networking and regional cluster growth in the food sector. It is, to the best of our knowledge, the first paper to provide a literature review of studies on regional food clusters, focusing on key features that characterize successful regional food clusters. The review compares key characteristics of such clusters with characteristics of clusters from other industrial sectors. The insights from these studies on clustering success and the role of government are contrasted with empirical evidence on government support for clustering in the Canadian food sector, specifically in the province of Alberta. The empirical evidence is based on two small industry surveys, one conducted in March 2005, and the second in August 2009. Considering this empirical evidence, we have little support for an emerging food (innovation) cluster in Alberta, and little evidence for effective government support toward food cluster development in Alberta.location-based clustering, food clusters, networks, innovation, government support, Alberta, Canada, Industrial Organization, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, R11, L32, L38, O32, O38, Q13,

Beef Labeling After BSE: Do Consumers Care about BSE Testing and GMO Labeling? Evidence from Canada and the US

Following the May 2003 Canadian BSE case, food safety issues have become even more prominent to policymakers and consumers. In both Canada and the US, governments and industry have responded with a variety of quality assurance, traceability and labeling schemes. However, there is little information available on the extent to which consumer perceptions differ regionally across North America towards labeling schemes. This paper attempts to fill this gap, by providing results on a variety of beef labeling strategies from choice experiments that were conducted in Alberta (Canada) and Montana (US). The analysis focuses on consumers' perceptions towards negative voluntary labeling with regard to BSE testing, genetically modified organisms (GMO) and the use of growth hormones in beef production. We find that four years after the first BSE case emerged in North America, consumers are willing to pay most to avoid risks associated with BSE. Montana and Alberta consumers are found not to be significantly heterogeneous in their preferences.Choice experiments, Multinomial logit, Beef labeling, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, D12, L66, C35,

Industry diversity, competition and firm relatedness: The impact on employment before and after the 2008 global financial crisis

Industry diversity, competition and firm relatedness: the impact on employment before and after the 2008 global financial crisis. Regional Studies. This study investigates the extent to which indicators of external-scale economies impacted employment growth in Canada over the period 2004–11. It focuses on knowledge spillovers between firms while accounting for Marshallian specialization, Jacobs’ diversity and competition by industry, as well as related and unrelated firm varieties in terms of employment and sales. It is found that the employment growth effects of local competition and diversity are positive, while the effect of Marshallian specialization is negative. Diversification is found to be particularly important for employment growth during the global financial crisis and immediately thereafter

Australian wines in the British wine market: A hedonic price analysis

The market share of New World wines sold in many European countries has increased dramatically over the past decade. More aggressive marketing, together with a more distinct and recognizable labeling scheme, are often regarded as the keys to the marketing success of these new wines. This article employs hedonic price analysis to identify the values that marketers and consumers place on the information carried by the label of Australian wines in the British wine retail market. Although many grape varieties are given a highly distinct valuation by market participants, our results also suggest that consumers consider regions jointly with grape varieties as proxies for brands. This contrasts with the general observation that grape varietal labeling is the distinctive feature of New World wines. Marketing implications are examined by considering the revenue impact of changes in labeling at the retail level

French wines on the decline? Econometric evidence from Britain

French wines, differentiated by geographic origin, served for many decades as a basis for the French success in the British wine market. However in the early 1990s, market share began to decline. This article explores the values that market participants placed on labelling information on French wines in Britain in 1994. Results from a parametric hedonic approach indicate that both the lack of a consistently positive valuation of varietal wines and the low valuation of wines with geographical appellation help to explain the overall decline of France's role in the British wine market