Michael Visser

What Determines Wine Prices: Objective vs. Sensory Characteristics *

The hedonic technique is applied to wines. In the price equation we include objective characteristics appearing on the label, as well as sensory characteristics and a grade assigned by expert tasters. We have three almost identically structured data sets (two on Bordeaux wines, and one on Burgundy wines). The results are used to make comparisons between two of the most important wine regions in France, and comparisons over time (the two Bordeaux data sets are sampled at different points in time). (JEL Classification: D49.)

Estimation of a hedonic price equation for Burgundy wine

A hedonic price equation and two jury grade equations are estimated for Burgundy wine. The approach is the same as in an earlier Bordeaux wine paper (Combris et al., 1997). The data come from an experimental study that is very similar to the study on Bordeaux wines. The results for the two wine-growing regions are compared and discussed.

A Study of Consumer Behavior Using Laboratory Data

This paper reports the results of an experiment in which subjects had to buy real products in 5 different budget/price situations. Subjects were randomly drawn from the population of a medium-sized French city, and some of their socio-economic characteristics were recorded. We check the consistency of product choices with the Generalized Axiom of Revealed Preferences (GARP), and find that 29% of the subjects are GARP-inconsistent. This inconsistency rate is slightly lower than the ones found in comparable studies. A possible explanation for our lower rate of GARP violations might be that the subjects in our study were confronted with less budget/price situations. In looking for determinants of the GARP violations, we find that gender, the size of the household, the degree of switching between different products, and the times spent on performing experimental tasks have significant impacts on the probability of GARP-inconsistency.

The Demand for Food Products: An Analysis of Interpurchase Times and Purchased Quantities

In this paper we study household purchase behaviour of storable food products. An inventory model is developed in which the household chooses an optimal stock level of the product. Storage of the product is costly, there is a fixed cost per purchase occasion, and the market price is sometimes discounted because of price promotions. We show that the optimal purchase policy is an s, S policy. The model is used to derive predictions on the correlations between interpurchase times and purchased quantities on the one hand, and prices on the other. These predictions are empirically verified using consumer panel data.

A count data model with unobserved heterogeneity

Abstract A count data model is defined via the distribution of the durations between successive events. It is assumed that the durations follow independent exponential distributions conditionally to a set of variables. The parameters of these distributions depend not only on observed and unobserved individual specific factors, but also on unobserved spell-specific factors. The count data model is therefore a natural extension of the compound Poisson model. A local version of the count data model is used to analyse the effects of unobserved spell specific factors. In particular, it is shown that spell-specific heterogeneity can induce not only overdispersion, but also underdispersion. The local model is also used to construct a score test for spell-specific heterogeneity in the Poisson model. The results are applied on purchase data of a consumption good.

Spatial Variations in Weather Conditions and Wine Prices in Bordeaux

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of weather conditions on prices of Bordeaux wines. Unlike previous studies (based on data from the main weather station in Merignac), we use climatological variables from many local stations. Two models are compared: one where prices are related to Merignac weather conditions, and one where prices are related to local conditions (weather variables measured in the station the nearest to the château). Although a (non-nested) test suggests that the model based on local data is better, the two specifi cations lead to very similar results. This is reassuring news for researchers interested in the relationship between weather and prices, but who do not have access to spatial variations in climate. (JEL Classification: Q19)

Transition Models with Measurement Errors

In this paper, we estimate a transition model that allows for measurement errors in the data. The measurement errors arise because the survey design is partly retrospective, so that individuals sometimes forget or misclassify their past labor market transitions. The observed data are adjusted for errors via a measurement-error mechanism. The parameters of the distribution of the true data, and those of the measurement-error mechanism are estimated by a two-stage method. The results, based on the 1990-1992 French labor force survey, show that neglecting measurement errors leads to an underestimation of the average durations spent in labor market states. The estimates of some important transition probabilities between states are also biased by the measurement errors.

The impact of information on wine auction prices: results of an experiment

This paper reports the results of an experimental wine auction. Participants of the experiment were randomly assigned to three rooms. In each room four wines had to be evaluated, but the level of information to which participants had access differed across rooms. After the evaluations, the wines were sold sequentially, by four separate Vickrey auctions with secret reservation prices. We find that certain socio-economic characteristics such as gender, income and consumption habits, have a significant impact on the willingness to pay for wine, while others such as age and nationality, do not. We also find that once individuals have read the label characteristics and extracts from wine guides, the taste of the wines does not have an additional impact on willingness to pay. Conversely, if individuals who have only tasted the wines blindly are informed about the wine characteristics and opinions from experts, their willingness to pay increases substantially.