The shifting locus of international wine production reflects the impact of 'New World' wines from the Southern hemisphere and the United States. A region which, oenologically, had an historic and traditional advantage over these new sources-the Central and Eastern European countries-has lagged behind these young competitors. This paper examines some recent history of the international wine market and this region's status in it. It suggests an unconventional interpretation of the nature of wine in the marketplace-as a cultural good-and discusses how this understanding of wine might define a market niche not yet served by current producers.
Economists have long recognized that goods allowing non-rival enjoyment accompanied by costly exclusion - pure public goods - present a challenge to efficient production because beneficiaries tend to understate their willingness to support such goods: such 'free-riders' realize that they cannot be denied access and may choose to enjoy without providing appropriate contribution. 'Academic standards' help identify the quality of academic performance (e.g., research, educated students), but the benefit they confer (e.g., reputation) strongly resembles a public good with its corresponding tendency to elicit free-riding and inefficiently low levels of production or support. This paper explores the manner in which such standards confer benefit, exhibit public good characteristics, and elicit free-riding and 'underproduction' in various parts of the academic community. It examines the resulting challenge to the maintenance of academic quality and the difficulty of discouraging free-rider behaviour.
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