Impacts of Geographical Indications - Review of Methods and Empirical Evidences

This paper focuses on methods for assessing the territorial impact (economic, social and environmental) of geographical indication systems. First, in a review of methods, methodological difficulties and choices are discussed and major studies are briefly presented. We highlight that it is necessary to identify a clear reference point and a relevant set of indicators and that this question has led to an active and rich research corpus. In a second part, we present some of the results of a recent European research program, SINER-GI. We analyze the impacts of 14 case studies in a common methodology. The results show significant differences of the priorities of the stakeholders between established geographical indications and geographical indications in progress. For a first group of geographical indications in progress, which we called “enthusiasts”, the most important expected impacts are the market stabilization or increase, the value added in the region, but also the preservation of local breeds or varieties. For a second group of geographical indications in progress, that we called “socio-environmentalists”, the expectations on economic issues are less important than the social and the environmental ones. Finally, for a third group of geographical indications in progress, that we called “undecided”, we find that the highest scores are given to the expected economic impacts. We can conclude that in general, observed or expected impacts of geographical indication systems are mainly linked with economic or economic-related issues. But the review of the 14 case studies also shows that if the economic concerns are the only motives in the implementation of the GI protection schemes, there are some crucial risks.