Browsing by Person "Hirsch, Stefan"

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Comparing meat and meat alternatives: An analysis of nutrient quality in five European countries
(2023) Petersen, Thies; Hirsch, Stefan
Objective: To assess and compare the (macro-)nutritional composition of red meat (RM) and poultry meat (PM) products with the emerging category of meat substitutes. Design: We use information on nutritional values per 100 g to estimate the differences in the nutritional composition between RM, PM, vegan meat substitute (VMS) and non-vegan meat substitute (NVMS) and derive six unique meat product clusters to enhance the comparability. Setting: Meat markets from five major European countries: France, Germany, UK, Italy and Spain. Participants/Data: Product innovation data for 19 941 products from Mintel’s Global New Product Database from 2010 to 2020. Results: Most of the innovations in the sample are RM products (55 %), followed by poultry (30 %), VMS (11 %) and NVMS (5 %). RM products exhibit a significantly higher energy content in kcal/100 g as well as fat, saturated fat, protein and salt all in g/100 g than the meatless alternatives, while the latter contain significantly more carbohydrates and fibre than either poultry or RM. However, results differ to a certain degree when products are grouped into more homogeneous clusters like sausages, cold cuts and burgers. This indicates that general conclusions regarding the health effects of substituting meat with plant-based alternatives should only be drawn in relation to comparable products. Conclusions: Meat substitutes, both vegan and non-vegan, are rated as ultra- processed foods. However, compared with RM products, they and also poultry products both can provide a diet that contains fewer nutrients-to-limit, like salt and saturated fats.
Markups and export behavior: Firm‐level evidence from the French food processing industry
(2022) Jafari, Yaghoob; Koppenberg, Maximilian; Hirsch, Stefan; Heckelei, Thomas
The relationship between a firm's markups and its export behavior is highly relevant to individual firms' strategic decisions as well as to governments' policies regarding competition. We investigate the impact of markups on firms' decisions to export and resulting export intensity in the French food processing industry. Moreover, we assess the effect of entry into and remaining in the export market on firms' markups and evaluate differences in markups between exporters and non‐exporters. Our results suggest that higher markups lead to both increased participation in the export market and greater export intensity. In addition, we find that firms obtain higher markups by entering and remaining in the export market. Finally, our results suggest that exporters generate higher markups, on average, than non‐exporters. Similar results are found when controlling for differences in firms' productivity. Our findings suggest that trade policies designed to increase firms' participation in export markets, such as limits to border restrictions, may counteract domestic competition policies targeted at price–cost margins.