The Performance of Protected Designations of Origin: An Ex Post Multi-Criteria Assessment of the Italian Cheese and Olive Oil Sectors

Protected designations of origin (PDOs) and protected geographical indications (PGIs) for food products are used by the European Union with the goal of achieving several policy objectives. We build a multi-criteria analysis framework for ex post assessment of the performance of PDOs. The performance criteria are based on five policy objectives, as defined by European policy makers in regulations, with each criterion measured by a set of indicators. We apply the framework to analyze the performance of all Italian PDO cheeses and olive oils from 2004 to 2008. The results show that for the PDOs studied it is feasible, in general, to perform on all five objectives at the same time, although partial tradeoffs are present between the bargaining power and local development objectives on one side and the market performance objective on the other. A ranking of PDOs in the two sectors on all objectives using multi-criteria analysis and equal weights on all objectives shows overall higher performance for smaller PDOs that are well rooted in the territory of origin and targeted to niche market segments. Lower ranked PDOs under this scenario tend to be bigger, older, and better established in wider markets. Alternative weighting scenarios that emphasize niche/local market PDOs or market performing PDOs yield different relative rankings. The results provide insights for both policy makers and stakeholders into the evaluation of PDO policy, as well as into the performance of individual PDO products.