Stefan Mann

What matters to consumers of organic wine

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the importance of the “organic” attribute for wine in relation to other attributes and to identify the most important determinants as far as the consumption of organic wine is concerned.Design/methodology/approach – A survey based on interviews with 404 Swiss wine drinkers was conducted. The data were evaluated by means of conjoint and regression analyses.Findings – The “organic” attribute was more important than the colour of the wine but less important than the price and the country of origin, foreign French wine being preferred to local Swiss wine. Urban and female consumers were relatively likely to consume organic wine, as were consumers who perceive organic wine as being healthy.Practical implications – Marketing for organic wine in well‐developed markets should focus on the argument of image and health. Urban female consumers are the most important target group.Originality/value – The paper presents the first results on the important attributes fo...

Acting under spatial restrictions: success factors of German local food-marketing networks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify success variables for local food networks in Germany. Design/methodology/approach – The approach takes the form of a written questionnaire sent to local food networks and statistical analysis to explain success indicators for networks. Findings – The analysis shows that vertical penetration, i.e. the inclusion of many different sectors in the network, increases the success of the network in terms of turnover. Another factor increasing the success of a network is whether small food enterprises like bakers or butchers are in charge of it. Research limitations/implications – There is a difficulty in identifying general success factors of networks with different objectives. Originality/value – This is the first analysis integrating vertical integration and quantitative integration as success factors.

Framing Obesity in Economic Theory and Policy

Abstract This paper explores several explanatory approaches for the rise and the prevalence of obesity in society. Both rationalist approaches and explanations involving information problems or weakness of will are considered. It is shown that many world religions take a united stance against obesity. While the recent rise in obesity can be explained rationally by a changed environment, information deficiencies and akrasia contribute to explaining its frequency in general. If the state intervenes, a “fat tax” carries much higher allocative losses than taxing overweight directly.

The central role of centralisation in environmental policy initialisation

While economic research on environmental policy is mainly concerned with instruments, political science concentrates on actors. The issue of centralisation needs to be analysed using a multidisciplinary approach because it is connected with both actors and instruments. Linking the Advocacy Coalition Framework with an economic approach, the paper first develops an innovative model in order to understand the mechanisms of centralisation and decentralisation in the different phases of policy processes. Focusing on environmental policy, the idea is developed that environmental policy needs the push of centralisation in order to institutionalise the prevailing social norm, but then should be organised decentrally to account for regional differences. The examples of air pollution, climate change and urban sprawl are used to test the explanatory power of the theoretical approach.

The expert valuation method for assessing agro‐environmental policy

The Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) and other conventional valuation methods of non‐market goods often prove to be unsuitable for the evaluation of the benefits of agro‐environmental policy. Therefore, a new method is introduced, according to which a group of experts jointly evaluates the strengths, weaknesses and finally monetary benefit of agro‐environmental programmes. While the methodology combines expert surveys, group discussions and CVM, its theoretical background is merit good theory. Compared to CVM, the most important practical difference in its outcome is the greater openness of the results. As an example, the Expert Valuation Method is applied to two groups of agro‐environmental policy measures in Switzerland. Suggestions for more efficient levels of reimbursements are made.

From friendly turns towards trade – on the interplay between cooperation and markets

Purpose - Many transactions are partly carried out within social networks and without payment, partly commercially on the market. The paper aims to explore the interdependencies between shrinking cooperation in society and a growing service sector. Design/methodology/approach - The author tries to categorize cooperation and to set it into relation to services carried out against payment. Examples are found where a clear switch from cooperation to the service sector have been taken place. Findings - The paper diagnoses a broad societal switch from socially driven cooperation to the market. Tour reps at holiday clubs, psychologists and nurses for the elderly are all rising professions and are used as cases in point. Utility theory sees such switches as a rise in GDP and therefore as something positive. From a happiness research perspective, however, switching from cooperation to markets will probably lead to declining social capital. Research limitations/implications - The overall impact to societal utility remains unclear. Originality/value - This is an example for a phenomenon where happiness research leads to very different results from welfare economics.

Implicit Social Policy in Agriculture

The current agricultural policy instrument of direct payments to farmers is also very much a form of social policy. This applies particularly for agricultural systems based on small family farms. Taking Switzerland as an example, the main weaknesses of the present system are outlined. A quantitative analysis reveals massive income differences among Swiss farmers, with the richest receiving more direct payments than the poorest. Potential improvements to the agricultural policy system are suggested by explicitly redefining direct payments as a social policy instrument.

Transfer of single farm payment entitlements to farm successors: impact on structural change and rental prices in Switzerland

This paper analyses the impact of tradable and non-tradable single farm payment (SFP) entitlements for farm successors on structural change and the lease market. Using the example of Swiss agriculture, the effects on rental-price trends and farm-exit rates are investigated. An ex-ante normative impact analysis is performed with the agent-based agricultural-sector model SWISSland, which simulates structural change processes and income trends in Swiss agriculture over a period of up to 15 years. A land market implemented at municipality level simulates the plot-by-plot leasing of land to surrounding neighbouring agents that is common in Switzerland. Allocation of plots to tenants as well as lease pricing is modelled taking into account the farm-specific land rents. The results show that personalised SFP entitlements which could not be transferred to a farm successor not only cause an intensification of structural change, but would also thus lead to a substantial reduction in rental prices. SFP entitlements which were successfully transferred to farm successors have only a slight impact on structural change and the rental prices of arable land. Only for grassland in the mountain region does a stronger shift result in a significant reduction in rental prices.

Does Libertarian Paternalism Reconcile Merit Goods Theory with Mainstream Economics

In the wake of Musgrave’s move to question the absolute hegemony of individual preferences for normative economics in the 1950’s by propounding the existence of merit goods, a recent book by Thaler and Sunstein is now making a similar claim under the label of ‘libertarian paternalism’. This paper tackles the question of why the framework of libertarian paternalism has received a so much more friendly reception among economists than the theory of merit goods. The main reason is a better foundation, not only for the conditions under which paternalism may be justified but also for the tools that should be applied, utilizing transaction cost theory.

THE CONCEPT OF ADMINISTRATIVE ELASTICITY

ABSTRACT The concept of administrative elasticity draws a relation between the development of administrative costs for a particular program and the development of this programs monetary volume. For the administration of agricultural export subsidies in Germany, administrative elasticities of the two offices involved were estimated separately and as a total. It showed that elasticities over a five-year period provided more reliable information than a look on short-term developments. Overall, export subsidies showed an inverse administrative elasticity, i.e., administrative costs soared while the programs monetary volume shrank. Explanations for this phenomenon were given and chances and limits of the concept of administrative elasticities were discussed.