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This study aims to analyse how wine attributes affect prices of fine German Riesling wines, provide estimates of the magnitude and heterogeneity of the attributes' implicit prices and draw conclusions on the pricing of fine wine and the research methodology.

Implicit prices of attributes of fine German Rieslings are estimated with fixed-effects regressions and their heterogeneity across quantiles of the conditional price distribution is tested with quantile-regression techniques. The analysis is based on a unique online data set for prices and characteristics of collectible wines.

Quality levels according to the German Prädikat system, additional quality awards for exceptional quality, the wine region, age or vintage as well as ullage and the bottle condition are relevant when explaining the price of cellarable wine. Additionally, the influence of the firm's individual reputation is very strong. Relative price premiums for some major attributes of fine German Riesling change significantly across quantiles of the conditional price distribution. Other attributes are characterised by a rather stable relative (but not absolute) price premium.

This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first hedonic price analysis which concentrates exclusively on fine German Riesling wine. By applying both classical and quantile regressions, the authors are able to derive new insights on quality-price linkages in this growing segment of collectible wine and on the research methodology.

The authors provide primary data on salt iodisation of processed foods in Germany, analyse reasons for food processors' use or non-use of iodisation and derive implications for public health.

Statistical evidence is presented on the use of iodised salt in bread and bakery products, meat and meat products and dairy products in the German grocery-retailing sector. Information is based on mobile data collection in a representative sample of grocery stores in four German cities. These data are analysed with logistic regression models. Additionally, an online survey of bakers and butchers is utilised to record and to explain the use of iodised salt in specialised food stores.

Salt was added in 69.3% of the 29,910 foods analysed in the market study. When salt was added, iodised salt was used in only 28.5% of the cases. According to the online survey, only 44% of the bakers and butchers used iodised salt, and the user share declined over time. Incomplete information from processors on the role of iodised salt for public health is contributing to the low and declining user share.

The authors combine different market research methods and elaborate that the recommendation by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture – “If salt, then iodised salt” – is implemented to a very limited extent by the food industry and specialised food stores. From the behaviour of food processors and their perceptions of salt iodisation, the authors gain new insights for policy and public health.

Price stabilization in international commodity markets is a main element of the North‐South dialogue. Within the Integrated Programme on Commodities (IPC) of UNCTAD, it is intended to create buffer stocks for 10 core commodities: sugar, natural rubber, cocoa, coffee, tea, cotton, jute, hard fibres, copper, and tin. Several theoretical studies justify these plans by stressing the positive effects of a functioning buffer stock scheme on different economic goals. It is argued that price stabilization will, “potentially at least, improve aggregate welfare” (Turnovsky, 1978, p. 143) and that risk benefits in the case of risk‐averse producers “will be far more important” (Bigman, 1982, p. 1984; on the concept, see Newbery/Stiglitz, 1981, pp. 267 et seq.) than the transfer benefits, if income uncertainty is reduced by the stabilization policy. Other positive effects of buffer stocks are stressed with respect to food security (Bignan, 1982, pp. 129 et seq.) and, except for the case of supply‐induced fluctuations and a price elastic import demand, with respect to the stability of export earnings (Nguyen, 1980, pp. 343 et seq.). The export earnings stabilizing effect as well as a mostly earnings‐raising effect is confirmed for several core commodities by simulation analyses (Behrman/Ramangkura, 1978, p. 166) and by dynamic optimization (Lee/Blandford, 1980, p. 385). Moreover, stable export earnings of less developed countries (LDCs) are expected to induce higher growth rates of GNP than unstable ones (Lim, 1976, pp. 311 et seq.).

It is the objective of this paper to elaborate determinants of food expenditure patterns for the generation 50+ in Germany on the basis of an Engel‐curve analysis.

Survey data for Germany are taken from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement (SHARE) database. Food‐at‐home (FAH) expenditures of the generation 50+ are explained within a multiple regression analysis first. Then, a double‐hurdle approach based on the probit model and a truncated regression are utilized for reproducing the existence of food‐away‐from‐home (FAFH) expenditures and the share of FAFH expenditures on consumption expenditures across households. Available information on socio‐demographic variables, income and the health status of the respondents are introduced as regressors in the multivariate analyses.

FAH expenditures in the generation 50+ in Germany follow the theoretical expectations underlying Engel functions. With a rising income level, FAH expenditures increase as well but the income share of FAH expenditures declines as does the share of FAH expenditures in total food expenditures. Apart from income, the share of FAH expenditures in food expenditures rises with age, household size, and it is highest for the lowest education level. Moreover, it is higher for West than for East German households. Becoming a pensioner increases absolute FAH expenditures, but does not affect the FAH expenditure share significantly. Very different results are provided by the Engel‐curve analysis for food away from home. A rising income raises FAFH expenditures, whereas becoming a pensioner lowers it. The age variable is insignificant.

The estimated Engel curves suggest that food at home grows less with rising income than food away from home. In particular, the determinants of the per‐capita FAFH expenditures reveal important determinants of expenditures of the generation 50+ in a highly dynamic consumption category. The results have important marketing implications.

Despite the growing economic importance of the generation 50+ in industrialised countries, empirical evidence on how this age group behaves in its food expenditure pattern is often lacking. This study provides a first set of estimated coefficients from Engel curves for Germany. These show how income as well as sociodemographic and health variables affect per‐capita expenditures for FAH and FAFH consumption.

This paper discusses the academic, governmental and logistical issues surrounding the University of Glamorgan’s recent involvement in developing accredited training and education for one of the largest music technology manufacturers in the world – Roland UK. The paper reports the joint development of a Foundation Degree in Music Retail Management, reflecting upon the viability of implementing work based learning (WBL), including accrediting current training and prior learning (APL). Through analysing the early stages of the project, the paper aims to formulate a clearer perspective of what the University of Glamorgan and Roland UK, in addition to the government and the music retail industry, actually require from a foundation degree such as this. After presenting a synopsis of the current political climate and contextualising the existing status of musical instrument retail training, an overview is provided of the development of the Roland/Glamorgan partnership. This is followed by a discussion of the philosophical debates and mechanisms currently surrounding the implementation and accreditation of WBL. The paper cumulates with the development of a pedagogical model that takes into account the quality issues of both the University of Glamorgan and Roland UK in addition to government policy. Conclusions are then drawn regarding the importance of both institutions developing appropriate structural capital and being aware of cultural differences that can potentially restrict academic/industrial partnerships. Although this pilot was focused specifically upon Roland UK, its wider implications, in terms of the demand for accredited training for the music instrument retail industry, are considered.

This paper aims to put Germany on par with other countries in terms of academic research on the topic of wine tourism from a producers’ perspective.

For this study, 199 in-depth interviews and 703 online questionnaires with winery operators in Germany were collected and analyzed according to a mixed-methods framework.

The results indicate that wine tourism is highly relevant not only for wineries but also for the families behind the predominantly small companies. The respondents reported increased demand for wine tourism activities, particularly those that are close to large cities. The findings show that the main challenges in the German wine tourism sector are to achieve a coordinated collaboration among stakeholders and to stop the ongoing concentration process in the restaurant industry.

Appropriate strategic decisions backed by governmental support may help to enhance Germany’s developing wine tourism industry, thereby preserving cultural heritage and strengthening some of the country’s structurally disadvantaged rural areas.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first mixed-methods framework study in the research field of wine tourism that includes producers from all wine regions in one country.

This study presents an investigation of the long and short‐term co‐movements between different hedge fund strategy indices and the stock markets of France, Germany, Japan, North America and the UK. To analyse relationships among these price indices, the EngleGranger methodology, based on bivariate testing for cointegration, and correlation analysis are conducted. The question of long‐term dependence instead of short‐term consideration is of particular interest, because portfolio optimization is based upon the cointegration of prices, rather than the correlation of returns. However, as is generally known, there is an information loss when returns are used instead of prices. Results indicate that there exists no station ary, long‐term relationship between the two as set groups. The overall suggestion is that opportunities exist to diversify an international portfolio by taking hedge funds into account. Moreover, this applies not only in terms of a limited time period, but also in the long‐run. Besides this main result, the augmented Dickey‐Fuller test statistics for cointegration residuals show quite different behaviour in comparison to the correlation co efficients. The values of the test statistics show that there seems to be a weaker tendency towards long‐term interrelation between hedge fund strategies and the US stock market. This applies even though average correlation co efficients among these assets exceed those of other combinations between stock and hedge fund indices.

How should economists incorporate culture into their economic analysis? What empirical approaches to identifying, measuring, and analyzing the relationship between culture and economic action are most appropriate for economists? In particular, what can experimental economists learn from the methods of economic anthropologists, sociologists, and historians who study culture? We argue that while both quantitative and qualitative approaches can reveal interesting relationships between culture and economic actions/outcomes, especially in experimental research designs, qualitative methods help economists better understand people’s economic choices and the economic outcomes that emerge from those choices. This is because qualitative studies conceptualize culture as a pattern of meaning, take the relevant cultural data to be people’s thoughts and feelings, treat the market as a cultural phenomenon, and allow for novel explanations.

The purpose of this paper is to reveal how information and communication technology (ICT) can empower shop floor workers in collaborative manufacturing environments.

The authors gather data from a mobile maintenance department of a steel manufacturing company and apply the method of a scenario-based design. The authors use data from interviews, observations and company documents to create problem and activity scenarios. The authors also demonstrate the development of a worker-centric digital design in multiple demonstration and evaluation cycles.

The authors find that ICT can be used to ensure that empowerment is not only a concept, but can sustainably empower daily operations.

The authors contribute to theory by showing how structural empowerment can be used as a guiding theoretical lens to design ICT for shop floor workers in collaborative manufacturing work environments. These implications are limited to findings from a single case study.

The results provide an overview of different empowerment dimensions, namely, the access to information, resources, support and opportunities, that can support employees in collaborative manufacturing environments.

This paper is first in suggesting a framework of how ICT designs can be used to empower shop floor workers in collaborative manufacturing environments.