Abstract

During the last few decades, economists have become interested in the wine industry and several of them have focused on the determinants of price. One characteristic that has been identified as an important determinant is expert wine ratings. Much of the previous research on this topic has focused on relating expert grades to the retail price of wine. Using proprietary data, this paper will test whether these grades influence retail prices as well as retailer profits and wholesale pricing. By analyzing an individual wholesale firm in South Florida and their distribution network, this paper determines the effect expert ratings have on these dependent variables. Empirical evidence confirms that expert ratings have a positive effect on wholesale and retail wine prices and that they exhibit a parallel influence on retailer profits. This thesis aims to contribute new information to aid both the end consumers purchasing decisions as well as busi-ness pricing strategies.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2011

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Caputo, Michael R.

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Business Administration

Degree Program

Economics

Subjects

Business Administration -- Dissertations, Academic;Dissertations, Academic -- Business Administration

Format

PDF

Identifier

CFH0004129

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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Included in

Economics Commons

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