IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/aaea13/150721.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Economics of Quality in the Specialty Coffee Industry: Insights from the Cup of Excellence Auction Programs

Author

Listed:
  • Wilson, Adam P.
  • Wilson, Norbert L.

Abstract

This study estimates price determinants for specialty green coffee auctions using records from the 2004-2010 Cup of Excellence programs hosted by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence. While most recent literature on coffee has focused on certifications and sustainability labels, the discussion of price determinants has been limited in the literature. This paper replicates one of the first publications on price determinants (Donnet, et al., 2008) and formulates a new model to more accurately describe the market. We include the necessary additional variables and estimate the model using a truncated maximum likelihood estimation technique. While sensory quality has a strong effect on price, the highest premiums stem from obtaining a top rank compared to other coffees from the same country, and North American buyers are more responsive to sensory quality than buyers in Asian and European markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Wilson, Adam P. & Wilson, Norbert L., 2013. "The Economics of Quality in the Specialty Coffee Industry: Insights from the Cup of Excellence Auction Programs," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 150721, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea13:150721
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.150721
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/150721/files/The%20Economics%20of%20Quality%20in%20the%20Specialty%20Coffee%20Industry_AAEA%202013.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.150721?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hausman, Jerry A & Wise, David A, 1977. "Social Experimentation, Truncated Distributions, and Efficient Estimation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 45(4), pages 919-938, May.
    2. Teuber, Ramona, 2010. "Estimating the Demand for Sensory Quality – Theoretical Considerations and an Empirical Application to Specialty Coffee," German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department for Agricultural Economics, vol. 59(03), pages 1-14, September.
    3. Jerry A. Hausman & David A. Wise, 1976. "The Evaluation of Results from Truncated Samples: The New Jersey Income Maintenance Experiment," NBER Chapters, in: Annals of Economic and Social Measurement, Volume 5, number 4, pages 421-445, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Ivar Ekeland & James J. Heckman & Lars Nesheim, 2004. "Identification and Estimation of Hedonic Models," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(S1), pages 60-109, February.
    5. Hite, Diane & Chern, Wen & Hitzhusen, Fred & Randall, Alan, 2001. "Property-Value Impacts of an Environmental Disamenity: The Case of Landfills," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 22(2-3), pages 185-202, March-May.
    6. Roger J. Bowden, 1992. "Competitive Selection and Market Data: The Mixed-Index Problem," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 59(3), pages 625-633.
    7. Beuchelt, Tina D. & Zeller, Manfred, 2011. "Profits and poverty: Certification's troubled link for Nicaragua's organic and fairtrade coffee producers," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(7), pages 1316-1324, May.
    8. M. Laura Donnet & Dave D. Weatherspoon & Charles B. Moss, 2010. "Measuring Food Product Differentiation by Quality Ratings: A Cross‐Entropy Analysis of Specialty Coffee e‐Auctions," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 122-137, February.
    9. Fabio R. Chaddad & Michael Boland, 2009. "Strategy-Structure Alignment in the World Coffee Industry: The Case of Cooxupé," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 31(3), pages 653-665, September.
    10. repec:bla:ecorec:v:77:y:2001:i:239:p:374-82 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Pollak, Robert A & Wales, Terence J, 1981. "Demographic Variables in Demand Analysis," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1533-1551, November.
    12. Rosen, Sherwin, 1974. "Hedonic Prices and Implicit Markets: Product Differentiation in Pure Competition," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(1), pages 34-55, Jan.-Feb..
    13. William G. Tomek, 1993. "Confirmation and Replication in Empirical Econometrics: A Step Toward Improved Scholarship," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 75(Special_I), pages 6-14.
    14. Barham, Bradford L. & Callenes, Mercedez & Gitter, Seth & Lewis, Jessa & Weber, Jeremy, 2011. "Fair Trade/Organic Coffee, Rural Livelihoods, and the "Agrarian Question": Southern Mexican Coffee Families in Transition," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 134-145, January.
    15. Hwang, Hae-shin & Mortensen, Dale T & Reed, W Robert, 1998. "Hedonic Wages and Labor Market Search," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(4), pages 815-847, October.
    16. Bolwig, Simon & Gibbon, Peter & Jones, Sam, 2009. "The Economics of Smallholder Organic Contract Farming in Tropical Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 1094-1104, June.
    17. Günter Schamel & Kym Anderson, 2019. "Wine Quality and Varietal, Regional and Winery Reputations: Hedonic Prices for Australia and New Zealand," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Kym Anderson (ed.), The International Economics of Wine, chapter 10, pages 225-253, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    18. M. Laura Donnet & Dave D. Weatherspoon & John P. Hoehn, 2008. "Price determinants in top‐quality e‐auctioned specialty coffees," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 38(3), pages 267-276, May.
    19. Edward Oczkowski, 2001. "Hedonic Wine Price Functions and Measurement Error," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 77(239), pages 374-382, December.
    20. Teuber, Ramona, 2009. "Café de Marcala - Honduras' GI Approach to Achieving Reputation in the Coffee Market," Estey Centre Journal of International Law and Trade Policy, Estey Centre for Law and Economics in International Trade, vol. 10(1), pages 1-18.
    21. Meike Wollni & Manfred Zeller, 2007. "Do farmers benefit from participating in specialty markets and cooperatives? The case of coffee marketing in Costa Rica1," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 37(2‐3), pages 243-248, September.
    22. Kennedy, Peter E, 1981. "Estimation with Correctly Interpreted Dummy Variables in Semilogarithmic Equations [The Interpretation of Dummy Variables in Semilogarithmic Equations]," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(4), pages 801-801, September.
    23. David Ubilava, 2012. "El Niño, La Niña, and world coffee price dynamics," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 43(1), pages 17-26, January.
    24. Bacon, Christopher, 2005. "Confronting the Coffee Crisis: Can Fair Trade, Organic, and Specialty Coffees Reduce Small-Scale Farmer Vulnerability in Northern Nicaragua?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 497-511, March.
    25. Epple, Dennis, 1987. "Hedonic Prices and Implicit Markets: Estimating Demand and Supply Functions for Differentiated Products," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(1), pages 59-80, February.
    26. Teuber, Ramona, 2010. "Estimating the Demand for Sensory Quality – Theoretical Considerations and an Empirical Application to Specialty Coffee," Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development, Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development, vol. 59(3).
    27. Smith, V Kerry & Huang, Ju-Chin, 1995. "Can Markets Value Air Quality? A Meta-analysis of Hedonic Property Value Models," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(1), pages 209-227, February.
    28. Chang, Jae Bong & Lusk, Jayson L. & Norwood, F. Bailey, 2010. "The Price of Happy Hens: A Hedonic Analysis of Retail Egg Prices," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 35(3), pages 1-18, December.
    29. Ponte, Stefano, 2002. "The 'Latte Revolution'? Regulation, Markets and Consumption in the Global Coffee Chain," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(7), pages 1099-1122, July.
    30. Steven Buccola & Yoko Iizuka, 1997. "Hedonic Cost Models and the Pricing of Milk Components," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 79(2), pages 452-462.
    31. repec:dau:papers:123456789/6486 is not listed on IDEAS
    32. Ruben, Ruerd & Fort, Ricardo, 2012. "The Impact of Fair Trade Certification for Coffee Farmers in Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 570-582.
    33. Kelly C. Bishop & Christopher Timmins, 2011. "Hedonic Prices and Implicit Markets: Estimating Marginal Willingness to Pay for Differentiated Products Without Instrumental Variables," NBER Working Papers 17611, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Stavrakoudis, Athanassios & Panagiotou, Dimitrios, 2016. "Price dependence and asymmetric responses between coffee varieties," Agricultural Economics Review, Greek Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 17(2), June.
    2. Grabs, Janina & Kilian, Bernard & Hernandez, Daniel Calderon & Dietz, Thomas, 2016. "Understanding Coffee Certification Dynamics: A Spatial Analysis of Voluntary Sustainability Standard Proliferation," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 19(3), pages 1-26, August.
    3. Eilson, Norbert L.W., 2015. "When Higher Quality Does Not Translate to Higher Prices: A Case of Quality and Specialty Coffees from the Cup of Excellence Auctions," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211898, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Lauren Rosenberg & Mark Swilling & Walter J V Vermeulen, 2018. "Practices of Third Wave Coffee: A Burundian Producer's Perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 199-214, February.
    5. Stavrakoudis, Athanassios & Panagiotou, Dimitrios, 2016. "Price dependence between coffee qualities: a copula model to evaluate asymmetric responses," MPRA Paper 75994, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Jones, Eugene, 2014. "An Empirical Assessment of Consumers’ Preferences for Coffee," Journal of Food Distribution Research, Food Distribution Research Society, vol. 45(2), pages 1-26, July.
    7. Hendrik Feyaerts & Goedele Van den Broeck & Miet Maertens, 2020. "Global and local food value chains in Africa: A review," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(1), pages 143-157, January.
    8. Ashton, John K. & Hudson, Robert S., 2017. "The price, quality and distribution of mortgage payment protection insurance: A hedonic pricing approach," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 242-255.
    9. Janina Grabs, 2020. "Assessing the institutionalization of private sustainability governance in a changing coffee sector," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(2), pages 362-387, April.
    10. Aldott, Zoltan, 2021. "Predicting Specialty Coffee Auction Prices Using Machine Learning," Warwick-Monash Economics Student Papers 15, Warwick Monash Economics Student Papers.
    11. Villegas, Laura, 2017. "Shady Business: Why do Puerto Rican Coffee Farmers Adopt Conservation Agriculture Practices?," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 259136, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    12. Hoehn, John P, 2016. "Costly Choices: Does the U.S. Retail Market Reward Coffee Origin Labeling?," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235891, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Eilson, Norbert L.W., 2015. "When Higher Quality Does Not Translate to Higher Prices: A Case of Quality and Specialty Coffees from the Cup of Excellence Auctions," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211898, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Wilson, Norbert, 2014. "When Higher Quality Does Not Translate to Higher Prices: A Case of Quality and Specialty Coffees from the Cup of Excellence Auctions," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170701, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Chiputwa, Brian & Spielman, David J. & Qaim, Matin, 2015. "Food Standards, Certification, and Poverty among Coffee Farmers in Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 400-412.
    4. Lucija Muehlenbachs & Elisheba Spiller & Christopher Timmins, 2015. "The Housing Market Impacts of Shale Gas Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(12), pages 3633-3659, December.
    5. Christopher R. Gustafson & Travis J. Lybbert & Daniel A. Sumner, 2016. "Consumer sorting and hedonic valuation of wine attributes: exploiting data from a field experiment," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(1), pages 91-103, January.
    6. Balineau, Gaëlle, 2013. "Disentangling the Effects of Fair Trade on the Quality of Malian Cotton," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 241-255.
    7. Fikadu Mitiku & Yann De Mey & Jan Nyssen & Miet Maertens, 2017. "Do Private Sustainability Standards Contribute to Income Growth and Poverty Alleviation? A Comparison of Different Coffee Certification Schemes in Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-21, February.
    8. Patrick Bajari & Jane Cooley Fruehwirth & Kyoo il Kim & Christopher Timmins, 2012. "A Rational Expectations Approach to Hedonic Price Regressions with Time-Varying Unobserved Product Attributes: The Price of Pollution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(5), pages 1898-1926, August.
    9. Giuliani, Elisa & Ciravegna, Luciano & Vezzulli, Andrea & Kilian, Bernard, 2017. "Decoupling Standards from Practice: The Impact of In-House Certifications on Coffee Farms’ Environmental and Social Conduct," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 294-314.
    10. Teuber, Ramona, 2010. "Estimating the Demand for Sensory Quality – Theoretical Considerations and an Empirical Application to Specialty Coffee," German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department for Agricultural Economics, vol. 59(03), pages 1-14, September.
    11. Verena Bitzer & Pieter Glasbergen & Bas Arts, 2013. "Exploring the potential of intersectoral partnerships to improve the position of farmers in global agrifood chains: findings from the coffee sector in Peru," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(1), pages 5-20, March.
    12. AKOYI, Kevin Teopista & MAERTENS, Miet, 2016. "Private Sustainability Standards in the Ugandan Coffee Sector: Empty Promises or Catalysts for Development?," Working Papers 235004, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    13. Ana C. Dammert & Sarah Mohan, 2015. "A Survey Of The Economics Of Fair Trade," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 855-868, December.
    14. Parvathi, Priyanka & Waibel, Hermann, 2015. "Is Organic Agriculture and Fair Trade Certification a way out of Crisis? Evidence from Black Pepper Farmers in India," 55th Annual Conference, Giessen, Germany, September 23-25, 2015 209209, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    15. Thi Minh Chi Nguyen & Li-Hsien Chien & Shwu-En Chen, 2015. "Impact of certification system on smallhold coffee farms` income distribution in Vietnam," Asian Journal of Agriculture and rural Development, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 5(6), pages 137-149, June.
    16. Kenneth Y. Chay & Michael Greenstone, 2005. "Does Air Quality Matter? Evidence from the Housing Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(2), pages 376-424, April.
    17. Steve Gibbons & Stephan Heblich & Esther Lho & Christopher Timmins, 2016. "Fear of Fracking? The Impact of the Shale Gas Exploration on House Prices in Britain," SERC Discussion Papers 0207, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    18. Tracey Seslen & William C. Wheaton & Henry O. Pollakowksi, 2005. "The Investment Performance of Housing and "Hedonic" Spatial Equilibrium," Working Paper 8583, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
    19. Teuber, Ramona & Herrmann, Roland, 2012. "Towards a differentiated modeling of origin effects in hedonic analysis: An application to auction prices of specialty coffee," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 732-740.
    20. Ruben, Ruerd, 2017. "Dovetailing Fairtrade And Organic Certification: How The Twin Can Meet?," 2017 International Congress, August 28-September 1, 2017, Parma, Italy 260827, European Association of Agricultural Economists.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crop Production/Industries; Demand and Price Analysis;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:aaea13:150721. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaeaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.