Geographical indications (GIs) aim to protect the names of specific high‐quality products (food and wine) to preserve and promote the uniqueness linked to their geographical origin and traditional know‐how. EU and extra‐EU countries register domestic products with GIs. This study disentangles the effects of such registrations on the quality of imports using country‐level product import data for the fruit, vegetable, coffee, tea, and spice sectors. Our results show that the registration of domestic products as GIs enhances the quality of imported goods only if the importing country has a lower level of quality of domestic production. The introduction of GIs into high‐quality domestic markets can discourage import quality upgrades. This is because domestic producers may prefer to compete for quality rather than price, and imported goods represent a less expensive alternative to high‐quality national goods for consumers. Conversely, in countries where domestic product quality is lower, the introduction of GIs may enhance import quality upgrading because the diffusion of GIs induces domestic consumers to become more demanding in terms of quality for foreign products.

中文翻译：

---

评估地理标志在影响进口质量方面的作用

地理标志 (GI) 旨在保护特定优质产品（食品和葡萄酒）的名称，以保护和促进与其地理起源和传统技术相关的独特性。欧盟和欧盟以外国家用地理标志注册国内产品。本研究利用水果、蔬菜、咖啡、茶和香料行业的国家级产品进口数据，阐明了此类注册对进口质量的影响。我们的研究结果表明，只有在进口国国内产品质量水平较低的情况下，将国内产品注册为地理标志才能提高进口商品的质量。将地理标志引入高质量国内市场可能会阻碍进口质量升级。这是因为国内生产商可能更愿意竞争质量而不是价格，而对于消费者来说，进口商品是高质量国产商品的更便宜的替代品。相反，在国内产品质量较低的国家，地理标志的引入可能会促进进口质量升级，因为地理标志的扩散会促使国内消费者对外国产品的质量提出更高的要求。