The U.S. Brewing Industry: Data and Economic Analysis [Hardcover]

Victor J. Tremblay (Author), Carol Horton Tremblay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 17, 2004

This definitive study uses theory, history, and data to analyze the evolution of the US brewing industry from a fragmented market to an emerging oligopoly. Drawing on a rich and extensive data set and applying the theoretical tools of industrial organization, game theory, and management strategy, the authors provide new quantitative and qualitative perspectives on an industry they characterize as "a veritable market laboratory." The US brewing industry illustrates many of the important topics in industrial organization, economic policy, and business strategy, including industry concentration, technological change, brand proliferation, and mixed pricing strategies.After giving an overview of the industry, Tremblay and Tremblay discuss basic demand and cost conditions and industry concentration. They describe the evolution of the leading mass-producing brewers and the emergence of both specialty brewers and imports. They analyze the history and the causes of product and brand proliferation (showing how product proliferation leads to firm dominance), discuss price, advertising, merger, and other management strategies, and examine the industry's economic performance. Finally, they discuss public policy, including anti-trust and public health issues. The authors' set of industry, firm, and brand data for the period 1950-2002 -- the most comprehensive data set of economic variables available for an oligopolistic industry -- will be available to purchasers of the book who send an e-mail request. Data sources are listed in an appendix. Robert S. Weinberg, a management strategy scholar and leading consultant to the brewing industry, contributes a foreword. This ambitious, authoritative work, capping the authors' 25-year study of the brewing industry, will be a valuable resource for industry analysts, economists, and students of industrial organization.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Tremblays provide a detailed description of the American brewing industry, a fascinating market laboratory in which a variety of strategic and policy issues are at play. They have assembled an impressive array of data, the analysis of which is thorough and persuasive. Their account of this industry should interest a wide audience."--Robert Porter, Department of Economics, Northwestern University

"An extremely useful book that business historians, industry executives, and corporate analysts undoubtedly will consult, while students of applied economics, business strategy, and organization theory will find in it much to support their work." Terence R. Gourvish Enterprise & Society

From the Inside Flap

"This is a remarkably thorough analysis of an important American industry, running the gamut from its history and the laws and regulations that govern it to practical aspects of the business and econometric analyses of production and demand. The brewing industry is a surprisingly dynamic place, and the Tremblays have done a fascinating job of tracing the evolution of its many component aspects, as well as the strategic behavior of the member firms. The authors have compiled an impressive survey that will be a valuable resource for practitioners and researchers alike." --William Greene, Professor of Economics, New York University

"This book has two great strengths. First, it provides the most detailed account of the history of the brewing industry and its firms. It also makes available the most comprehensive set of data about the industry ever gathered. These, along with the book's broad and detailed economic analyses, will make the Tremblays' work a landmark." --John E. Kwoka, Neal F. Finnegan Distinguished Professor of Economics, Northeastern University

"The Tremblays provide a detailed description of the American brewing industry, a fascinating market laboratory in which a variety of strategic and policy issues are at play. They have assembled an impressive array of data, the analysis of which is thorough and persuasive. Their account of this industry should interest a wide audience." --Robert Porter, Department of Economics, Northwestern University

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (December 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262201518
• ISBN-13: 978-0262201513
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #737,836 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Statistical Database and References, January 4, 2007

By 

Juan Guzman Barros (Santiago, Chile) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The U.S. Brewing Industry: Data and Economic Analysis (Hardcover)

This book, in my opinion, is one of the most successful intents to merge top-level Industrial Organization (IO) literature within a real industry. Through study cases, theoretical interpretation, and statistical database the authors describe the evolution of the U.S. Brewing industry. Highly recommended to be included in IO courses as part of empirical material to test standard, and some new, theories. References on both IO theory and Brewing Industry are exceptional. Why 4 stars instead of 5? Because the book lacks of basic theory developments, which are essential to any IO course.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Discussion of the Brewing Industry, June 26, 2007

By 

Diego Banducci (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The U.S. Brewing Industry: Data and Economic Analysis (Hardcover)

Anyone interested in gaining an overview of the brewing industry in America -- history, economics, statistics -- could do no better than to start with this book. Those, like I, who are frustrated by the slipshod "analyses" that appear in the trade press, will find that this book will save them a great deal of time and grief. It is worth noting that the Tremblays are professors at Oregon State University and the book is published by the MIT Press.

The Tremblays do a fine job of integrating the history of the industry with an impressive set of industry data. As a result, the book is remarkably readable, and will be of interest to both the casual reader and those with academic and professional interests in the subject.

Chapter titles are as follows:

1. Introduction
2. Basic Demand and Cost Conditions
3. Industry Concentration
4. The Leading Mass-Produsing Brewers
5. Imports and Domestic Specialty Brewers
6. Product and Brand Proliferation
7. Strategic Behavior: Price, Advertising, Merger, and Other Strategies
8. Economic Performance
9. Public Policy Issues
10. Concluding Remarks, Forecasts, and Directions for Future Research
Appendix A Data and Sources
Appendix B Beer Containers
Appendix C Mergers, Ordered by Acquired Firm
Appendix D Alcohol Content, Standard Serving Size, and Blood Alcohol Concentration

Having come across Paul Kalmanovitz ("Beer Baron of the United States") and his minions several time in my career, I was particularly interested in those passages dealing with his strategies and tactics, and their impact on the industry.

I also found the discussion of antitrust issues useful.

The economic analysis is too quantitative for the casual reader, but there is not much of it, and the summaries at the end of each chapter do a great deal to clarify its meaning.

Highly recommended.

3.0 out of 5 stars Not exactly what I was looking for..., December 6, 2009

By 

J. Mak (New York, NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The US Brewing Industry: Data and Economic Analysis (Paperback)

Not exactly what I was looking for. I was looking for a book with a variety of data that I could use for my own statistical analysis for a school project. The book doesn't really contain any raw data, but just summarized data. There are many good graphs and tables that offer summarized viewpoints though.

I love beer, but I don't know why anyone would find much joy out of reading this book. That's just me though. It may be helpful if you are doing some very in-depth research on the beer market, but for me, I was just doing an marketing brand project and it wasn't so helpful.