Geographical Indications and Public Good Relationships: Evidence and Policy Implications

In the European context, geographical indications (GIs) are tools that contribute to the achievement of rural development policy objectives. In this article, we propose that GI value chains produce positive environmental, social and economic benefits, defined as Public Goods (PGs), resulting from the rules defined in the Code of Specifications (CoS). This article reports the main results of the Strength2food H2020 project, designed to assessing the impact of GIs (through their CoSs) on agri-food system sustainability. Specifically, this report highlights that GI CoSs may generate PGs through the rules codified in CoSs presented as good practices in the production of PGs for other GI systems. Some final recommendations are proposed from the analysis of those good practices which contribute to the generation of PGs and, consequently, to the improvement of a sustainable rural development process. Case studies analysed show that generation of PGs requires both an internal and external intervention. The former intervention implies governance strategies for GI territorial systems and value chains that can improve the production of PGs. The latter intervention entails consumers and other stakeholder communication strategies to raise awareness regarding PG generation. These interventions will ultimately increase the social value of GIs.