The rise of beeronomics(2)
SWINNEN: Countries around the Mediterranean — Spain, Italy, etc. — tend to consume more wine because historically that’s where wine production took place. In the north of Europe, the climate was cooler, and they were more likely to produce beer. But over the years, what you see is that through globalization, there is a conversion in terms of consumption patterns. Countries that used to consume mostly beer are consuming wine, and countries that consumed wine are consuming beer. This holds for Russia and Poland, too, in which alcohol consumption was mostly vodka. They are now consuming much less vodka and much more beer.
IDEAS: That’s a significant cultural shift. What’s causing it?
SWINNEN: It’s part advertising, part government regulation. In Russia, they are trying to reduce vodka consumption because there is too much alcoholism. Essentially, the Russian government banned advertising for vodka, because so many people were dying of vodka consumption, particularly older people. They still allowed beer advertising because Russians did not consider beer to be an alcoholic drink. At the same time, young people wanted to socialize. Western companies targeted young people. Beer consumption for young people became the cool thing to do. In the data, you can see that generational cohorts are shifting from vodka to beer.
IDEAS: Well, long ago beer was considered a healthy beverage, right?
SWINNEN: Water was very, very unhealthy, and so people consumed beer. Things like Coca-Cola and soda water didn’t develop until the 18th and 19th centuries, so for hundreds of years, beer was the healthy alternative. It wasn’t until coffee and tea were imported in the 16th and 17th centuries that people could drink nonpolluted things that were not alcoholic.
IDEAS: We know why beer is important to those who drink it. But government has historically kept such a close watch on the brewing industry. Why so much interest?
SWINNEN: Beer taxes were really important. For instance, they basically provided up to 50 percent of total government revenue in what was then called the Low Countries, an area including Holland and Belgium, in the 15th to 17th centuries.
IDEAS: So nothing is certain but death and beer taxes?
SWINNEN: We’re working on a piece now where we’re arguing that beer taxes contributed to the creation of Belgium, the Belgian state and the borders.
IDEAS: Historically, taxes also contributed to the consolidation of the beer industry, correct?
