The distribution of geographical indications across Europe. Reflecting spatial patterns and the role of policy

Within the EU agricultural policy, geographical indications (GIs) are assigned the role of adding value to local food productions. The use of GIs has traditionally been heterogeneous across EU regions, and stimulating their uptake in non-traditional GI regions was presented as one of the motivations for the new 2024 GI Regulation. This paper investigates the issue of inequality in the spatial GI distribution. Specifically, the objectives of the work are: (i) to examine the spatial patterns of GI registration, exploiting specific techniques of inequality analysis; (ii) to investigate the existence of convergence processes across EU regions in terms of registered GIs; and (iii) to estimate the impact of the last GI Regulation in fostering convergence processes. The first part of the analysis relies on the application of several Gini index decompositions, highlighting the large role played by Protected Designations of Origin and by cross-national factors in driving GI inequalities up. Convergence is observed to be in place, but the very low rate at which it is occurring calls for a more robust policy intervention. In this respect, the impact analysis, performed using an interrupted time series regression approach, highlights no significant effect of the last GI reform in stimulating convergence.