The Economics of Beer

Edited by Johan F.M. Swinnen

Accessible and non-technical
Looks at established beer markets across countries in Europe and the US as well as newer markets in China, Russia, and India
Highlights trends and explains why beer consumption has increased or decreased at certain points in history
Analyses the relationship between income and beer consumption
Covers a wide range of topics including economic history, supply and demand, trade and investment, technology and innovation, health and nutrition, quantity and quality, taxation and regulation, and regional beer market developments

The Economics of Beer

Edited by Johan F.M. Swinnen

Description

Beer has been consumed across the globe for centuries and was the drink of choice in many ancient societies. Today it is the most important alcoholic drink worldwide, in terms of volume and value. The largest brewing companies have developed into global multinationals, and the beer market has enjoyed strong growth in emerging economies, but there has been a substantial decline of beer consumption in traditional markets and a shift to new products. There is close interaction between governments and markets in the beer industry. For centuries, taxes on beer or its raw materials have been a major source of tax revenue and governments have regulated the beer industry for reasons related to quality, health, and competition.

This book is the first economic analysis of the beer market and brewing industry. The introduction provides an economic history of beer, from monasteries in the early Middle Ages to the recent 'microbrewery movement', whilst other chapters consider whether people drink more beer during recessions, the effect of television on local breweries, and what makes a country a 'beer drinking' nation. It comprises a comprehensive and unique set of economic research and analysis on the economics of beer and brewing and covers economic history and development, supply and demand, trade and investment, geography and scale economies, technology and innovation, health and nutrition, quantity and quality, industrial organization and competition, taxation and regulation, and regional beer market developments.

The Economics of Beer

Edited by Johan F.M. Swinnen

Part I: History
1:A Brief Economic History of Beer, Eline Poelmans and Johan F.M. Swinnen
2:Beer Production, Profits, and Public Authorities in the Renaissance, Richard W. Unger
3:Standards and International Trade Integration: A Historical Review of the German 'Reinheitsgebot', Frank Van Tongeren
4:Brewing Nation: War, Taxes, and the Growth of the British Beer Industry in the 18th and 19th Centuries, John V.C. Nye
5:Belgian Beers: Where History Meets Globalization, Damiaan Persyn, Johan F.M. Swinnen and Stijn Vanormelingen
Part II: Consumption
6:Cold Comfort in Hard Times: Do People Drink More Beer During Recessions?, Donald G. Freeman
7:Beer Drinking Nations: The Determinants of Global Beer Consumption, Liesbeth Colen and Johan F.M. Swinnen
8:Recent Economic Developments in the Import and Craft Segments of the US Brewing Industry, Carol H. Tremblay and Victor J. Tremblay
9:Culture and Beer Preferences, Jill J. McCluskey and Sanatan Shreay
Part III: Industrial Organization
10:Competition Policy Towards Brewing: Rational Response to Market Power or Unwarranted Interference in Efficient Markets?, Margaret E. Slade
11:Developments in US Merger Policy: The Beer Industry as Lens, Kenneth G. Elzinga and Anthony W. Swisher
12:The Growth of Television and the Decline of Local Beer, Lisa M. George
13:Determinants of the Concentration in Beer Markets in Germany and the United States: 1950 - 2005, William James Adams
14:How the East was Won: The Foreign Takeover of the Eastern European Brewing Industry, Johan F.M. Swinnen and Kristine Van Herck
Part IV: The New Beer Markets
15:Beer Battles in China: The Struggle over the World's Largest Beer Market, Junfei Bai, Jikun Huang, Scott Rozelle and Matt Boswell
16:From Vodka to Baltika: A Perfect Storm in the Russian Beer Market, Koen Deconinck and Johan F.M. Swinnen
17:Opening the Beer Gates: How Liberalization Caused Growth in India's Beer Market, Abhimanyu Arora, Anjor Bhaskar, Bart Minten and Anneleen Vandeplas
Part V: Conclusion
18:Beeronomics: The Economics of Beer and Brewing, Johan F.M. Swinnen and Thijs Vandemoortele

The Economics of Beer

Edited by Johan F.M. Swinnen

Author Information

Edited by Johan F.M. Swinnen, Professor of Economics and Director of LICOS Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance at the University of Leuven (KUL).

Johan Swinnen is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Brussels, where he directs the programme on EU agricultural and food policy. He was previously Lead Economist at the World Bank and Economic Advisor at the European Commission. He consults for the OECD, FAO, EBRD, UNDP, IFAD, and several Governments and was coordinator of international research networks on food policy, institutional reforms, and economic development. He is President-Elect of the International Association of Agricultural Economists and a Fellow of the European Association of Agricultural Economists. He holds a PhD from Cornell University. He has published widely on political economy, institutional reform, trade, and agricultural and food policy.

Contributors:

William James Adams, University of Michigan
Abhimanyu Arora, University of Leuven
Junfei Bai, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Anjor Bhaskar, Independent Researcher, India
Matt Boswell, Stanford University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Liesbeth Colen, University of Leuven
Koen Deconinck, University of Leuven
Kenneth G. Elzinga, University of Virginia
Don Freeman, Sam Houston State University
Lisa M. George, City University of New York
Jikun Huang, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jill J. McCluskey, Washington State University
Bart Minten, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
John Nye, George Mason University
Damiaan Persyn, University of Leuven
Eline Poelmans, Hogeschool Universiteit Brussel
Scott Rozelle, Stanford University
Sanatan Shreay, Amgen Corporation
Margaret Slade, Universities of British Columbia and Warwick
Johan F.M. Swinnen, University of Leuven
Anthony Swisher, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Carol H. Tremblay, Oregon State University
Victor J. Tremblay, Oregon State University
Richard Unger, University of British Columbia
Kristine Van Herck, University of Leuven
Frank van Tongeren, OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate
Thijs Vandemoortele, University of Leuven
Anneleen Vandeplas, University of Leuven
Stijn Vanormelingen, IESE Business School

The Economics of Beer

Edited by Johan F.M. Swinnen

Reviews and Awards

"...this volume is an important step forward for the popularization and professionalization of beer and brewing research." - Martin Stack, EH.net

"Informative and thought provoking ... One of the many excellent things about The Economics of Beer is that its authors take a sceptical economic approach, looking beyond [such] easy assumptions ... counterintuitive sensibility combined with hard-heeled econometric analysis." - Bee Wilson, Times Literary Supplement

"The scholars tackle some interesting questions, such as whether people drink more beer during a recession (they don't) and whether American television advertising contributed to the demise of local breweries in the 20th century (it did)." - Andrew Frisicano, Time Out

"Overall, the book displays the authors' strong command over practical and contextual beer market questions. The range of topics is well distilled, offering multiple insights into the workings of beer markets." - Benoit Pierre Freyens, The Economic Record

The Economics of Beer

Edited by Johan F.M. Swinnen

From Our Blog

Who brews your beer?

By Johan F. M. Swinnen After two centuries of consolidation and closing down of small breweries, a counter-revolution is under way. Fed up with the lack of variety and the control of large brewing holdings over their favorite drinks, beer lovers have taken their beverage back into their own hands. All over the world, new beers and breweries are emerging every day. What started as the micro-brewery movement in the USA has spread to other countries and created a remarkable turnaround in convention.

Posted on December 27, 2011

Read the blog post