The Economics of Beer

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.

PART I: HISTORY ; 1. A Brief Economic History of Beer ; 2. Beer Production, Profits, and Public Authorities in the Renaissance ; 3. Standards and International Trade Integration: A Historical Review of the German 'Reinheitsgebot' ; 4. Brewing Nation: War, Taxes, and the Growth of the British Beer Industry in the 18th and 19th Centuries ; 5. Belgian Beers: Where History Meets Globalization ; PART II: CONSUMPTION ; 6. Cold Comfort in Hard Times: Do People Drink More Beer During Recessions? ; 7. Beer Drinking Nations: The Determinants of Global Beer Consumption ; 8. Recent Economic Developments in the Import and Craft Segments of the US Brewing Industry ; 9. Culture and Beer Preferences ; PART III: INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION ; 10. Competition Policy Towards Brewing: Rational Response to Market Power or Unwarranted Interference in Efficient Markets? ; 11. Developments in US Merger Policy: The Beer Industry as Lens ; 12. The Growth of Television and the Decline of Local Beer ; 13. Determinants of the Concentration in Beer Markets in Germany and the United States: 1950 - 2005 ; 14. How the East was Won: The Foreign Takeover of the Eastern European Brewing Industry ; PART IV: THE NEW BEER MARKETS ; 15. Beer Battles in China: The Struggle over the World's Largest Beer Market ; 16. From Vodka to Baltika: A Perfect Storm in the Russian Beer Market ; 17. Opening the Beer Gates: How Liberalization Caused Growth in India's Beer Market ; PART V: CONCLUSION ; 18. Beeronomics: The Economics of Beer and Brewing