Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between income inequality and the demand for high-end luxury wine. The consumption of luxury goods has experienced dramatic growth since 2000 but inequality has been neglected by scholars working on luxury consumption. The exploratory research focuses on wine demand between 2000 and 2019 and analyzes the impact of income inequality among other factors, including gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and GDP growth. The authors want to discern whether highly unequal countries import more expensive wine when compared to countries with lower inequality.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors prepared different data sets based on the year and the trade value of each country to compare the differences and commonalities. The regression models incorporate particular foreign trade statistics (average unit price of wine) as an objective variable and the Gini coefficients to measure the relation between the demand for high-end luxury wines and inequality as an explanatory variable. The models also incorporate other control variables such as economic and institutional conditions.

Findings

The analysis demonstrates a positive relationship between the unit price of imported wine and the level of income inequality of the importers. This research suggests that conspicuous consumption, as a means of social distinction, is a major driver of the luxury wine market. Other significant factors include GDP per capita and geographic proximity. However, countries with a high power distance and bad governance do not purchase more luxury wines than others. Hence, rather than the social acceptation of wealth and corruption, the consumption of luxury wines is driven by the levels of economic development and inequality.

Originality/value

This paper is exploratory research that discusses an underexplored issue: the impact of income inequality on the consumption of luxury goods such as high-end luxury wines. It contributes to the literature on wine consumption, luxury business and income and wealth inequalities. These fields are rarely approached together and the research emphasizes the potential offered by such a perspective.

中文翻译：

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高端豪华葡萄酒需求与收入不平等

目的

本研究的目的是探讨收入不平等与高端豪华葡萄酒需求之间的关系。自 2000 年以来，奢侈品消费经历了急剧增长，但研究奢侈品消费的学者却忽视了不平等。探索性研究侧重于 2000 年至 2019 年间的葡萄酒需求，并分析收入不平等对其他因素的影响，包括人均国内生产总值 (GDP) 和 GDP 增长。作者想要辨别与不平等程度较低的国家相比，高度不平等的国家是否会进口更昂贵的葡萄酒。

设计/方法/方法

作者根据年份和每个国家的贸易额准备了不同的数据集，以比较差异和共同点。回归模型将特定的外贸统计数据（葡萄酒的平均单价）作为目标变量，将衡量高端豪华葡萄酒需求与不平等之间关系的基尼系数作为解释变量。这些模型还包含其他控制变量，例如经济和制度条件。

发现

分析表明，进口葡萄酒的单价与进口商的收入不平等程度之间存在正相关关系。这项研究表明，炫耀性消费作为一种社会区分手段，是豪华葡萄酒市场的主要驱动力。其他重要因素包括人均国内生产总值和地理邻近性。然而，权力距离大、治理不善的国家并不比其他国家购买更多的豪华葡萄酒。因此，豪华葡萄酒的消费不是由社会对财富和腐败的接受，而是由经济发展水平和不平等程度驱动的。

原创性/价值

本文是探索性研究，讨论了一个未被充分探索的问题：收入不平等对高端奢侈葡萄酒等奢侈品消费的影响。它为葡萄酒消费、奢侈品业务以及收入和财富不平等的文献做出了贡献。这些领域很少一起探讨，研究强调了这种观点所提供的潜力。