Quality Labels and Firm Survival in the French Cheese Industry

EU regulation on quality food products (PDO labeling) 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 (Ap- pellation d'Origine Controlee) reduces exiting risk for smaller firms. However, smaller firms still have a lower survival rate compared to larger ones that cannot be compensated by the quality label effect.