Cross-National Adoption of Private Food Quality Standards

This study analyses the adoption of two private food standards, BRC Food Technical Standard and GlobalGAP, at an aggregated cross-country level using data of 2007. Results of the econometric analysis reveal some potential barriers for farms and firms in developing countries to access this type of organisational innovation. The main implication of the paper is that third-party certification for export purposes seems to reinforce existing trade relations, potentially hampering new entrants.