Quality labels and firm survival: Some first empirical evidence

Abstract

European Union regulation on quality food products (protected designations of origin (PDO) labelling) is expected to sustain competitiveness within the agricultural sector. This paper examines the impact of this policy on the survival of cheese firms over the period 1990-2006 in France. We show that such a policy (Appellation d'Origine Controlée) reduces exiting risk for smaller firms. However, smaller firms still have a lower survival rate compared with larger ones that cannot be compensated by the quality label effect. © 2012 Oxford University Press and Foundation for the European Review of Agricultural Economics; all rights reserved.