Starting around 1996, Russia witnessed a strong growth in beer consumption, leading to a fivefold growth in average beer consumption and making beer the most important alcoholic drink today. We use survey data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) to analyze individual...

So, you’ve decided to do a PhD… now what? In this essay, de some advice for beginning PhD students are given Doing a PhD is a transformative experience, but the process is challenging – not merely on an intellectual level but also psychologically. To overcome these challenges...

Like all markets in the former communist countries, the Eastern European beer market has been strongly affected by the economic reforms in the beginning of the 1990s. In the first years after reforms, there was a substantial decline in the production of barley, malt and beer. However, the...

Between 1996 and 2007, per capita beer consumption in Russia more than quintupled, making beer the most important alcoholic drink in Russia today and transforming Russia into the world’s third largest beer market. We study the role of peer effects in this rapid adoption of beer. In particular,...

The present-day border between Belgium and the Netherlands traces back to the separation of the Low Countries after the Dutch Revolt (1566-1648) against Spanish rule. The capacity to finance war expenditures played a central role in the outcome of this conflict. Excise taxes on beer consumption...

Retailers’ private standards are increasingly important in addressing consumer concerns about safety, quality and social and environmental issues. Empirical evidence shows that these private standards are frequently more stringent than their public counterparts. This article develops a...

Almost half of the world’s vineyards are in the EU and the EU produces around 60% of the world’s wine. The EU is also the world’s most regulated wine market. In 2007, the European Union decided on a major reform of its wine policy, the so-called Common Market Organization (CMO) for wine. A...

This paper gives an overview of the recent developments in the field of the political economy and its applications to agricultural policies. It highlights the interaction between economic and political markets, political preferences, the influence of lobbying groups, voters and politicians, and...