Olivier Gergaud

Natural endowments, production technologies and the quality of wines in bordeaux. Does terroir matter?

We study whether quality assessments made by wine experts and by consumers (based on prices obtained at auction between 1980 and 1992) can be explained by variables describing endowments (land characteristics, exposures of vineyards) and technologies (from grape varieties and picking, to bottled wines). However, since technological choices are likely to depend on endowments, the effects can only be identified using an instrumental variables approach. We show that technological choices affect quality much more than natural endowments, the effect of which is negligible.

Sustainable Certification for Future Generations: The Case of Family Business

Business sustainability has been defined as meeting current needs while providing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. However, few firms invest in practices geared at sustainability. In this article, we investigate how family ties to future generations via the intention of transgenerational succession can be associated with the adoption of sustainable practices. Using data from 281 wineries in the United States collected through a survey questionnaire, we show that ties to future generations, measured as the intention of the winery owner to pass down the winery to their children, are associated with the adoption of sustainable certification.

Stardust over Paris Gastronomic Restaurants

In this paper, we study if the leading French gastronomic guidebook, the “ Guide Rouge Michelin ,” only rates the quality of food, as it claims, or if it also considers environmental variables when attributing stars. We then check how Michelin ratings affect the market, and more specifically, the price charged by restaurants. Using some simple econometric techniques, we find that a small improvement in environment boosts the probability of receiving Michelin stars. Since we also find that a Michelin star is associated to a high price premium stuck (independently of the quality of food), we conclude that expertise induces distortions in the market (JEL classification: D4, L15, L66).

Twilight of the Idols in the Market for Champagne: Dissonance or Consonance in Consumer Preferences?

Abstract The paper reports on a series of results obtained from a champagne tasting experiment. People were asked to rank four different products according to their preferences, when faced successively with different sets of information: labels and disclosures, prices and then blind tasting. This experiment shows that for experience goods, there may be a dissonance in the behaviour of consumers, in the sense that they choose differently when they see the signals and when they experience the product. This dissonance suggests that better information is needed for rational consumers to discover their preferred product.

Collective Reputation Effects: An Empirical Appraisal

This paper tests Tirole (1996)’s theory about the link between indiviual and collective reputation. We estimate an interaction model in which a single collective reputation both determines and is determined by a series of individual reputations. Using detailed survey data about the image of Bordeaux wines in seven European countries, we find positive and significant spillover eects from the umbrella reputation (Bordeaux) that moreover increase with the individual reputation level of the wine. Controlling for the natural endogeneity of collective reputation in this setup, allows to capture the important fact that this relationship is faced with marginal diminishing returns. In other words that the marginal impact of Bordeaux as an umbrella brand actually tends to decrease to zero (and not to increase in a linear way) as the reputation level of its entities goes up. These spillover eects, when significantly positive, vary from a minimum of 5% to a maximum of 15% of additional favorable quality opinions.

Natural Endowments, Production Technologies and the Quality of Wines in Bordeaux. Does Terroir Matter?

We study whether quality assessments made by wine experts and by consumers (based on prices obtained at auction between 1980 and 1992), can be explained by variables describing endowments (land characteristics, exposures of vineyards) and technologies (from grape varieties and picking, to bottled wines). However, since technological choices are likely to depend on endowments, the effects can only be identified using an instrumental variables approach. We show that technological choices affect quality much more than natural endowments, the effect of which is negligible. (JEL Classification: L66, Q12, Q13, Q16)

Suspicious Blood and Performance in Professional Cycling

In this note, the authors analyze whether the International Cycling Union’s “index of suspicion,” which reflects the extent to which a rider is suspected of using doping, correlates with performance during the 2010 Tour de France and the 1-year period before and after the 2010 Tour de France. Though our point estimates suggest a medium-sized performance improving effect of being suspected of doping, the index of suspicion can only explain a very small part of the variation in performance. This could be because the current doping practice in cycling has little effect on diverse rankings in these races.

Does Organic Wine Taste Better? An Analysis of Experts' Ratings *

Eco-labels are part of a new wave of environmental policy that emphasizes information disclosure as a tool to induce environmentally friendly behavior by both firms and consumers. Little consensus exists as to whether eco-certified products are actually better than their conventional counterparts. This paper seeks to understand the link between eco-certification and product quality. We use data from three leading wine rating publications (Wine Advocate, Wine Enthusiast, and Wine Spectator) to assess quality for 74,148 wines produced in California between 1998 and 2009. Our results indicate that eco-certification is associated with a statistically significant increase in wine quality rating.

Celebrities as human brands: an investigation of the effects of personality and time on celebrities’ appeal

Abstract This article considers celebrities as brands and relies on the brand personality literature to investigate how celebrities’ personality impacts their appeal. Celebrities’ appeal is analysed across different cultural fields (TV, music, sport and cinema) and over time. Using data gathered by Epoll Market Research about the perception of more than 3000 celebrities among the US population, our results show that apart from rudeness, all dimensions of personality have a positive impact on appeal. Interestingly, our results show that the impact of personality dimensions varies across cultural fields. Finally, we provide a dynamic analysis of the evolution of appeal over time, which also exhibits different patterns (declining, inverted U-shape) across cultural fields.

Stars War in French Gastronomy: Prestige of Restaurants and Chefs' Careers

In this paper, we analyze the careers from a sample of more than 1,000 top French chefs over more than twenty years and link it to the success or reputation of the restaurants where they have worked. This allows us to test what are the determinants of success but also to investigate the dynamics of performance and reputation, stressing the importance of the quality of apprenticeships, mentoring and entrepreneurship spirit. We find that the prestige of the restaurant where individuals work is on average declining along the career, and that the quality of apprenticeship is strongly related to the future success as chef. We also find that prices of restaurants with higher reputation are more sensitive to bad signals.