Regulation and Contract Choice in the Distribution of Wine
Journal of Wine Economics, 11(2), November 2016
36 Pages Posted: 14 Nov 2014 Last revised: 23 Jan 2018
Date Written: December 5, 2015
Abstract
The wine industry in the United States has grown tremendously over the past few decades, from fewer than 1,000 wineries in 1980 to upward of 8,500 today. The growth has occurred over a period that has seen substantial changes in the structure of the wine industry, the modes of distribution available to wineries, and the regulations governing them. Most economic research, however, has focused on supply relations between wineries and wine grape growers rather than between wineries and their downstream markets. In this article, we examine wineries’ contracting behavior with downstream distributors and the effects of industry structure, winery organizational structure, and state laws regarding direct shipment and distribution franchise laws.
Keywords: wine distribution, regulation, direct shipment, franchise laws
JEL Classification: D23, L14, L22, L66
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation