Outcomes

The Geographical Indications (GIs) project addressed a clear need. At present there is a gulf between the Australian approach to GIs and the European approach, and too much of the debate has taken place on ideological grounds. However, now that the EU’s GI policy has been in place for over 25 years, there are some data to allow a clear empirical investigation of when, where and how GIs contribute to the prosperity of producers and rural and regional areas. An appreciation of this evidence can be a major contribution both to improving GI policy in Europe and to investigating its potential use in Australia. This can facilitate more productive dialogue over any GI content in the proposed comprehensive trade agreement between the EU and Australia/New Zealand. By developing, assessing and disseminating the empirical evidence, the project has also created a useful network for both policymakers and academics.

Briefing Paper

Understanding the real-world impact of GIs: A critical review of the empirical economic literature, Áron Török and Hazel V J Moir, ANU Centre for European Studies Briefing Paper Series, Vol.9, No.3, July 2018. A shorter version of this paper, focusing on the data on the size of the market for GI labelled foods, has been published in Studies in Agricultural Economics.

Videos, slides and notes

We created two video seminars to assist in spreading the understanding of Geographical Indications. The videos are accompanied by slides with notes giving further information and suggested reading. A third video on regional specialities in China is accompanied by slides.

Geographical Indications: the basics (Hazel Moir) 7 December 2018, Slides and notes / Video
Understanding Geographical Indications: sifting the latest evidence (Hazel Moir) 7 December 2018, Slides and notes / Video
The tradition of regional specialities in China (Wenting Cheng), Slides / Video

Audio and slides

Understanding Geographical Indications, John Clarke and panel discussion, 7 March 2018, Audio
Understanding Geographical Indications Berlin Workshop introduction, 4 September 2018, Audio
The size of the GI market and the importance of GIs in the EU (Hazel Moir), 4 September 2018, Slides / Audio
The impact of GIs on producer and rural prosperity (Áron Török), 4 September 2018, Slides / Audio
Linking product and place (Andrea Zappalaglio), 4 September 2018, Slides / Audio
Understanding Geographical Indications: Sifting the latest evidence, 7 December 2018, Audio
Geographical Indications in East Asia (Wenting Cheng), Slides / Audio

Slides

The impact of GIs on producer and rural prosperity (Áron Török, Filippo Arfini), 21 June 2018
GI economic impacts: what we do and don't know (Áron Török), 21 June 2018
Willingness to pay a price premium (Áron Török), 21 June 2018
The size of the GI market and the importance of GIs in the EU (Hazel Moir), 19-20 June 2018
EU Strength2food project presentation (Filippo Arfini), 19-20 June 2018

Events

Geographical Indications academic workshop, Berlin, 4 September 2018

A Geographical Indications workshop took place in Berlin on 4 September 2018. The workshop was a mechanism for disseminating the results of the project to those involved either in research or GI policy-making. Workshop participants were from a wide variety of backgrounds and included academics, policymakers, trade negotiators and industry representatives. They provided valuable comments for further work. Event flyer and program / Agenda and participants

‘Understanding Geographical Indications: What is the Evidence?’ Policy Forum, Canberra, 21 June 2018

The research team presented the findings from the project and drew out the main policy and trade negotiation implications in this policy forum. Presenters were Adjunct Associate Professor Hazel Moir (the size of the market for GIs), GI Visiting Fellow Dr Áron Török (the impact on producers) and special guest Professor Filippo Arfini from the Department of Economics at the University of Parma, Italy, and Deputy of the H2020 Strength2Food Project (discussing regional development). Event flyer and program

‘GIs: what do we know and what should we know?’ workshop, Canberra, 19–20 June 2018

This invitation-only workshop intensively reviewed the available empirical evidence on GIs, discussing the policy implications and priority issues for further research. Participants included those who have undertaken empirical work on GI, policymakers addressing rural development or food labelling issues, and lawyers who have worked on GI issues. Sessions focused on critical issues such as the size of the GI market, the GI food chain and distance to market. The event asked questions such as: Is there an increase in net producer income from GI labelling? What is the impact of GI labelling on rural and regional productivity? Can GI labelling create positive impacts for relatively unknown products? Presenters were Adjunct Associate Professor Hazel Moir, GI Visiting Fellow Dr Áron Török and Special Guest Professor Filippo Arfini. Event program