Analysis of the cultural role of meals has a long history, and dining out is significant in that history as perhaps their most public and observable example. This paper examines a neglected feature of dining out - the production and provision of wine lists. Adding wine to a meal can elevate it to a social event that reflects taste, status, and social distinction in ways that vary culturally. Whether to add wine choices to food choices offered as a transaction suggests an array of questions related to wine's impact on the public dining experience. Drawing on a review of the literature, anecdotal evidence, and some recent data, this paper explores the role of wine in dining out, with a focus on wine list content and wine service.

Discussion of terroir emerged from "Old World" producers explaining their wines' provenance and special nature and consumers wondering why one wine's flavor differs from another's despite no apparent difference in winemaking. European markets have entertained the concept far longer than their New World counterparts, applying it to a range of agricultural and place-based products. This paper asks how European consumers evaluate a New World wine's terroir, studying results from a large Discrete Choice Experiment of Italian consumers considering Californian wine. We find a generally negative perception of the legal designation of terroir, expressed through the US American Viticultural Area label, and preference for a relatively broad definition of the wine's geographic provenance. However, a terroir story focused on the specific site is most popular. Evidence of utility increasing with price suggests the price-quality heuristic. Three latent classes depicting preference models emerge which in turn have implications for producers of place-based products.

Some retail wine vendors acknowledge a tension between catering to consumer preferences to make money and encouraging broader and deeper – perhaps less profitable – wine appreciation. This study arises from the business philosophy and operations of a vendor attempting to resolve that tension. Unlike simple shopkeeping, this approach requires aesthetic vision and agility – more like operating an art gallery or fine dining restaurant than a convenience store or fast-food franchise – and a cultural, less opportunistic approach to managing operations. This study discusses (1) the origin and history of the business and decision making, (2) its distinctive role in the marketplace and (3) its suppliers and customers and the evolution of those relationships, including its policies (e.g. product mix, pricing, staffing) and performance. It highlights a distinctive business model that encourages adventurous customers – like curious students – and attracts volunteer labour and ‘benevolent’ investors apparently drawn to association with a commitment to selling wine as a cultural good.

Abstract Consumers use expert ratings to help choose wine, and economists find correlations between ratings and transaction prices. Rating scales resemble hedonic scales in the behavioral sciences, which suffer from an “intersubjectivity” problem. Taste is a private sensation; people taste differently (an external validity problem), so ratings are often unreliable hedonic markers of enjoyment. But why? Hedonic measurements from food science (“general Labeled Magnitude Scales”) attempt to adjust for differences in perceived sensory sensitivity and offer clues. Resulting insights illustrate wine ratings’ shortcomings as reliable guides to enjoyment. (JEL Classifications: C14, D12, D91, L15, L66)

Over the past two decades homeschooling has become increasingly popular, but this educational alternative has lacked rigorous empirical evaluation because of data limitations. Since little data are available for individual students, we examine homeschooling participation at the statewide and district level in Wisconsin. The most compelling finding is the large decrease in homeschooling at the upper levels of high school which may distort the evaluation of homeschooling as preparation for college. We also examine district and community factors associated with overall homeschooling participation and find evidence, for example, of the importance of test scores and specific religious preferences to that choice. Specifically, we find that higher district level homeschool participation is associated with lower district grade school test scores, lower expenditure per pupil, and a lower percentage of Catholic individuals living in the surrounding area.

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Fine wines challenge the consumer to know them and form a meaningful willingness to pay (WTP) for them. Recognizing the challenge to the wine consumer's knowledge of what she is buying, researchers have studied the relationship between price and measures of perceived quality or vicarious knowledge such as expert opinion. The argument is that, if unable to know the wine before buying it, consumers may use such information to guide their WTP. However, while this information may influence WTP, one wonders whether it improves the consumer's knowledge; the evidence of correlation is weak. This paper questions whether fine wine can be known vicariously through expert ratings. The paper reviews and critiques the kinds of information available to the wine consumer, especially experts’ opinions, as well as other factors that complicate the consumer's knowing what she will find in the bottle. While such expert information is not without value, the discussion highlights a number of shortcomings that limit its usefulness as a determinant of WTP.

Purpose– Commercial auctions of cultural goods are typically brokerage arrangements where potential buyers may consider pre-sale estimates (PSEs) in bidding. The economic theory suggests that PSEs should provide honest guidance – winning bids should, on average, equal PSEs – but available research from fine art and antique auctions finds otherwise. The authors examine this relationship for commercial auctions of fine wine – items which, unlike fine art and antiques, are widely traded so that bidders may more knowledgably interpret PSEs.Design/methodology/approach– The paper examines the relationship of PSEs to winning bids econometrically for an iconic wine widely traded in several Chicago wine auctions, a novel setting for this analysis.Findings– The relationship of winning bids to PSEs differs significantly between two neighboring auction houses, perhaps reflecting differences in how they do business; neither’s PSEs have a straightforward relationship to winning bids; PSEs have an influence on winning bids independent of a lot’s characteristics, reflecting perhaps an anchoring effect; the analysis suggests broad bidding strategies (with counter-strategies implied) and might guide auction house lot selection and ownership if more complete data became available.Originality/value– The role and reliability of PSEs in auctions of other cultural goods, representing most of the literature, has limited application to auctions of fine wine whose markets differ categorically from those of other cultural goods.

Purpose - Commercial auctions of cultural goods are typically brokerage arrangements where potential buyers may consider pre-sale estimates (PSEs) in bidding. The economic theory suggests that PSEs should provide honest guidance - winning bids should, on average, equal PSEs - but available research from fine art and antique auctions finds otherwise. The authors examine this relationship for commercial auctions of fine wine - items which, unlike fine art and antiques, are widely traded so that bidders may more knowledgably interpret PSEs.Design/methodology/approach - The paper examines the relationship of PSEs to winning bids econometrically for an iconic wine widely traded in several Chicago wine auctions, a novel setting for this analysis.Findings - The relationship of winning bids to PSEs differs significantly between two neighboring auction houses, perhaps reflecting differences in how they do business; neither's PSEs have a straightforward relationship to winning bids; PSEs have an influence on winning bids independent of a lot's characteristics, reflecting perhaps an anchoring effect; the analysis suggests broad bidding strategies (with counter-strategies implied) and might guide auction house lot selection and ownership if more complete data became available.Originality/value - The role and reliability of PSEs in auctions of other cultural goods, representing most of the literature, has limited application to auctions of fine wine whose markets differ categorically from those of other cultural goods.

What is distinctive about the economics of wine? Wine’s health benefits stir debate, but many appreciate life-enhancing qualities from its production and enjoyment. Few products enjoy such wide distribution, rich history, and interest. This book emphasizes microeconomic principles and related research – drawing upon various fields from international trade to public choice, relating economic reasoning to management. Topics range from economic fundamentals to the challenge of knowing what is in the bottle and the importance of wine as a cultural good.

The shifting locus of international wine production reflects the impact of 'New World' wines from the Southern hemisphere and the United States. A region which, oenologically, had an historic and traditional advantage over these new sources—the Central and Eastern European countries—has lagged behind these young competitors. This paper examines some recent history of the international wine market and this region's status in it. It suggests an unconventional interpretation of the nature of wine in the marketplace—as a cultural good—and discusses how this understanding of wine might define a market niche not yet served by current producers. Acknowledgments I appreciate the comments, suggestions, and additional references from two anonymous referees and suggestions for resources from Dr Bernard Hoeter. Heather Goodall provided able research assistance in preparing Table 1. An early version of this paper was presented at the 25th World Congress of the Czechoslovak Academy of Arts and Sciences (2010) in Tabor, CR. Notes In the context of the global wine market, we shall consider the wine-producing CEEC to be the six former Soviet-dominated countries that have joined the European Union (EU) (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Romania) and five Balkan countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro). Excluding Greece, Malta, and Cyprus, these are the countries included in Hugh Johnson's coverage of "Central and Southeast Europe" in his annual Pocket Wine Book. In 2008, these countries accounted for about 5% of global wine production. However, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro had very small production; and, of the remaining countries, only Slovenia had increased production (+17.2%) over the period 2004–8 (http://www.wineinstitute.org/resources/worldstatistics/article87). A more explicit endorsement of wine as a cultural good has come from personal correspondence with Prof. Throsby: "[Wine] has the hallmark characteristics that have come to be accepted as defining a 'cultural good''' (personal correspondence, 16 May 2011). In particular, he cites three widely accepted characteristics of cultural goods, namely 1) embody creativity, 2) convey some symbolic meaning, and 3) embody at least potentially some form of intellectual property. The characterization of wine as a cultural good is distinct from the idea that most or all goods have 'cultural content'. In this sense, a cultural good is a technical category of goods with defined production and consumption characteristics drawn from economic theory (analogous to the technical definitions of public goods, private goods, durable goods, club goods, etc.): some of these characteristics contribute to market failure and argue for state support as indicated later in the discussion. The cultural role and meaning of consumption is the basis for a large literature drawn from anthropology, sociology, and economics which explores questions of the meaning of consumption (e.g., status, marking, public versus private) (see, for example, Douglas and Isherwood, 1996 Douglas, M. and Isherwood, B. 1996. The World of Goods: Towards an Anthropology of Consumption, London: Routledge. [Google Scholar]) and, in focusing upon why people buy, is less concerned with market failure. As of now, these two approaches to the relationship between culture and goods seem to have developed largely independently.

The growing literature on the price determinants for fine wine often includes consideration of the role of so-called expert ratings. Examination of wine merchant websites and premises, with their proliferation of advertising touting the appeal of a wine as evidenced by its score, reinforces the prediction that "scores sell". Perhaps because of the proliferation of experts and scores and their varied locations, research on the price implications of scores usually focus upon one expert or one rating system (e.g., Robert Parker, Wine Spectator ). This paper expands the analysis of this relationship by comparing the estimated impacts upon prices for red Bordeaux for six different international ratings sources, some of whom are individuals and some of whom are panels. The focus is not only evidence of a significant impact of ratings upon prices but also the magnitude of the impact and any evidence of differential impact in both size and significance of the different sources. The analysis also tests whether additional scores have value. The data allow an examination that controls for vintage and appellation so that one can examine, for example, (a) whether impact varies with the quality of the vintage and (b) whether impact varies with the various parts of Bordeaux (e.g., left bank vs. right bank). The analysis also examines the correlation among the different rating sources.

As brokers between consignors and buyers, auction houses routinely charge successful bidders a broker's commission-a percent of their successful bids. This study considers the extent to which differences in brokers' commissions are reflected in differences in winning bids in fine wine auctions, drawing upon an unusually detailed collection of auction data for Bordeaux wine and providing a 'natural experiment' for testing the incidence of brokers' commissions. The data allow not only a test of the extent to which the commission charged to buyers is reflected in the buyers' bids but also a reasonably comprehensive explanation of variations in wine auction prices. The results indicate that buyers' premia are capitalized fully into bids so that bids fall accordingly with obvious consequences for the proceeds from the sale.

Access to undergraduate education has expanded rapidly in recent years. This is one manifestation of a rise in the relative importance of market‐based resource allocation in higher education and a weakening of allocation based upon traditional views of merit. This change in priority has influenced the content of the undergraduate curriculum and introduced both content and methods whose legitimacy and educational value some question as universities market their products to attract enrolment. The paper discusses the relationship between allocation mechanism and “curriculum as product” and examines critically some of the more significant implications for undergraduate education such as course rigour and full‐spectrum grading.

Economists have long recognized that goods allowing non-rival enjoyment accompanied by costly exclusion - pure public goods - present a challenge to efficient production because beneficiaries tend to understate their willingness to support such goods: such 'free-riders' realize that they cannot be denied access and may choose to enjoy without providing appropriate contribution. 'Academic standards' help identify the quality of academic performance (e.g., research, educated students), but the benefit they confer (e.g., reputation) strongly resembles a public good with its corresponding tendency to elicit free-riding and inefficiently low levels of production or support. This paper explores the manner in which such standards confer benefit, exhibit public good characteristics, and elicit free-riding and 'underproduction' in various parts of the academic community. It examines the resulting challenge to the maintenance of academic quality and the difficulty of discouraging free-rider behaviour.

The economic transition in the Central and Eastern European Countries provides a unique opportunity to observe the evolution of economies from planned systems to more market-oriented and decentralized systems. Aside from the bounty of economic policy issues raised by such a transition, a more fundamental adjustment involves the design of education for the future managers in these economies and, in particular, the role of economics-a subject at the core of the transition-in the management curriculum. Using the MBA curriculum as its focus, this paper discusses both the rationale for including economics in the program for various curric-ular models and the particular relevance of the subject to management students in the transition environment.