Determinants of Adoption of Protected Designation of Origin Label: Evidence from the French Brie Cheese Industry
研究了法国布里奶酪生产商采用原产地保护标签的决定因素，发现原材料成本越高、公司规模越大，采用意愿越低，但采用者可通过价格溢价弥补40%的额外生产成本。
Abstract This paper investigates empirically the determinants of agro‐food firms’ adoption of the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label. A unique dataset containing firm‐level cost and production information on the French Brie cheese is used, covering the period 1980–2000. The Brie cheese data are especially relevant as PDO Brie producers have coexisted with other non‐PDO producers since 1981. To evaluate the producers’ incentive to opt for PDO certification, we use a structural switching regression model which incorporates cost and production structure variables. Results show that PDO certification is less attractive the higher the costs of raw materials and the greater the size of the company. PDO Brie cheese production costs are estimated to be on average 40% higher than those for non‐PDO Brie. The PDO production process could be technically inefficient when compared with the unconstrained non‐PDO manufacturing; yet, PDO producers benefit from a price premium on their product which offsets their higher production cost.