Gianluca Stefania
- E-mail: gianluca.stefani@unifi.it,
Edi Defrancesco –
E-mail: edi.defrancesco@unipd.it,
&
Ginevra Virginia
Lombardi - E-mail: ginevravirginia.lombardi@unifi.it
Abstract
Geographical
indications (GIs) are a 25 years old European policy instrument which have,
among its objectives, to foster rural development. In this respect, very few
studies quantitatively investigate to what extent this policy is effective.
Literature is in fact mainly focused on specific GIs, studied through case
studies, trying to identify which factors are responsible for the success or
failure of specific initiatives. The aim of the present study is instead to
quantify the impact of such policy instrument on a single indicator of rural
development: agricultural value added. In order to assess the impact we firstly
built an index measuring the number of GI schemes implemented at NUTS3 level in
the Italian regions. Then, following a difference-in-difference evaluation
strategy and relying on an explicit theoretical model, a fixed effect estimator
was implemented. The choice of the model, as well as the variables to be
considered, is specified using a directed acyclic graph. Results show that an
overall positive effect of GI protection on agricultural value added could be
identified in Italy, thus providing evidence of a positive impact of the
European policy on rural development.
Keywords: geographical indication; impact evaluation; rural development
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