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GM-free private standards, public regulation of GM products and mass media

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 January 2014

Mauro Vigani  and
Alessandro Olper
Mauro Vigani
Affiliation:
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS), Edificio Expo, C/ Inca Garcilaso 3, 41092 Seville, Spain. Tel. +34 95 448 7175. E-mail: mauro.vigani@ec.europa.eu
Alessandro Olper
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi di Milano, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods, and LICOS – Centre for Institution and Economic Performance, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. E-mail: alessandro.olper@unimi.it
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Abstract

This paper analyses the factors inducing retailers to adopt genetically modified (GM)-free private standards, using information on 44 retailers operating in 54 countries. Retailers are distinguished between those not using GM ingredients and those using ingredients which are potentially GM in their private label products. Results from a binary response model show that many of the drivers highlighted in the empirical literature, such as historical factors, communication infrastructure and sectorial conditions, affect the likelihood of adopting GM-free private standards. Moreover, we test additional hypotheses from the political economy of standards formation and of mass media. Key results show that a higher share of government-oriented public media reduces the probability of adopting GM-free private standards, while different genetically modified organism public standards between home and operating countries increase this probability.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 19 , Issue 6 , December 2014 , pp. 743 - 768
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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