Exporting firms around the world ship only a small fraction of their output overseas. For firms in a large country, such as the United States, this behavior can be explained by the existence of a large domestic market. For firms in a small lower income country, such as Colombia, the lower share of exports remains a puzzle. This paper begins by illustrating the failure of current models to explain plant export patterns in Colombia. Even models that do well in describing the US export distribution fail when confronted with the Colombian data. In response to this puzzle, this paper proposes a model in which wealthier individuals produce and consume higher quality products. Predictions of the model are tested on Colombian plant level data from 1981-1991. Overall, product quality is shown to be a significant factor in explaining the tendency for Colombian plants to under-export manufactured goods to the United States.

Exporting firms around the world ship only a small fraction of their output overseas. For firms in a large country, such as the United States, this behavior can be explained by the existence of a large domestic market. For firms in a small lower income country, such as Colombia, the lower share of exports remains a puzzle. This paper begins by illustrating the failure of current models to explain plant export patterns in Colombia. Even models that do well in describing the US export distribution fail when confronted with the Colombian data. In response to this puzzle, this paper proposes a model in which wealthier individuals produce and consume higher quality products. Predictions of the model are tested on Colombian plant level data from 1981-1991. Overall, product quality is shown to be a significant factor in explaining the tendency for Colombian plants to under-export manufactured goods to the United States.

Should exporters worry about country-of-origin bias? Although the pervasiveness of country-level product advertising suggests that they do, lack of data has limited the empirical study of subjective bias toward products from a specific country. Using data from the U.S. wine industry, including numerical blind tasting evaluations, this paper directly computes the impact of country-of-origin bias upon wine import prices. A hedonic pricing framework is used to control for vintage, blind-tasted quality, varietals, production costs and quantities. Cross-country comparisons of price residuals suggest that "Product of Italy" on the label can raise the price of a bottle by more than fifty percent.

Should exporters worry about country-of-origin bias? Although the pervasiveness of country-level product advertising suggests that they do, lack of data has limited the empirical study of subjective bias toward products from a specific country. Using data from the U.S. wine industry, including numerical blind tasting evaluations, this paper directly computes the impact of country-of-origin bias upon wine import prices. A hedonic pricing framework is used to control for vintage, blind-tasted quality, varietals, production costs and quantities. Cross-country comparisons of price residuals suggest that "Product of Italy" on the label can raise the price of a bottle by more than fifty percent.

This paper investigates changes in cultural consumption patterns for a low-concentration industry: wine and beer. Using data on 38 countries from 1963-2000, there is clear convergence in the consumption of wine relative to beer between 1963 and 2000. Convergence occurs even more quickly within groups of countries that have a higher degree of integration. A key prediction of international trade is confirmed in the data: greater trade integration weakens the association between production and consumption patterns -- although the relative consumption of wine can be explained well in 1963 by grape production and latitude, these variables are much less significant in 2000. Despite these “scientific” explanations for the consumption of wine, there is also a cultural angle to wine consumption. While the relative wine consumption of France and Germany is converging, several Latin American countries fail to converge. The patterns of convergence are consistent with dynamics of adjustment in an overlapping generation habit formation model.

This paper investigates changes in cultural consumption patterns for a low-concentration industry: wine and beer. Using data on 38 countries from 1963-2000, there is clear convergence in the consumption of wine relative to beer between 1963 and 2000. Convergence occurs even more quickly within groups of countries that have a higher degree of integration. A key prediction of international trade is confirmed in the data: greater trade integration weakens the association between production and consumption patterns -- although the relative consumption of wine can be explained well in 1963 by grape production and latitude, these variables are much less significant in 2000. Despite these “scientific” explanations for the consumption of wine, there is also a cultural angle to wine consumption. While the relative wine consumption of France and Germany is converging, several Latin American countries fail to converge. The patterns of convergence are consistent with dynamics of adjustment in an overlapping generation habit formation model.