China has increased the amount of beer they drink each year, making it the largest market for beer. The article looks at research that says people will drink more beer until their income rises to about $22,000 a year. After this they start drinking less beer and more wine, with an increase in income. This trend holds true for other emerging markets like Russia and Brazil.
It's an interesting article, because in the article it makes the comparison to what American's experience in their 20's. In college you aren't making much money so you don't have that many responsibilities and many opportunities. But as your income increases, so do your responsibilities and you have less opportunities to drink, and there are more potential costs.
It's an interesting article, because in the article it makes the comparison to what American's experience in their 20's. In college you aren't making much money so you don't have that many responsibilities and many opportunities. But as your income increases, so do your responsibilities and you have less opportunities to drink, and there are more potential costs.
9 comments:
This is a very captivating article, especially because drinking beer is a big part of being an American and even a college student. I agree with this article. As a college student, I do not have a constant income coming in, so buying cheap alcohol and beer is the way to go. Once my income increases I will buy beer that is more expensive, which results in better tasting.
For example, when my dad was in college all he bought was cheap, nasty beer. Now he is an adult, has an income, and refuses to buy cheap alcohol. My parents have more responsibilities as adults and have less time to drink. When given the opportunity to sit down and have an alcoholic beverage they prefer wine or more expensive beer.
However, it is interesting to know that china is the largest market for beer, more so than the United States.
I think this article, while interesting, fails to adequately emphasize the cultural differences and how that affects alcohol consumption. As the author notes, India generally frowns on any type of alcohol unlike in other markets like Brazil. I don't think such a broad assessment can be so broadly applied to a market like China.
I agree with Aimee in the sense that cultural differences are not addressed in the article.
Here is another article that relates to this article and emphasizes the cultural differences in beer consumption between China and the U.S. Apparently Pabst Blue Ribbon, an extremely cheap beer in the U.S is marketed to the Chinese as a luxury/hipster beer selling for $44 a bottle.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/07/21/pabst-blue-ribbon-is-classy-and-expensive-in-china/
I think this article is interesting too. While I see the connection between income and the type of alcohol an individual consumes in nations such as our own, I think there are some faults in this analysis. There are definitely some trends in consumer goods that are associated with changes in income. I don't really think, however, that the correlation between beer/ wine holds up in all countries. As Aimee mentioned, some cultures discourage alcohol consumption and some historically are producers/ consumers of beer or wine or a different type of alcohol. For instance, in countries such as the Czech Republic, people of all ages drink beer regardless of their personal income.
I agree with Aimee in terms of cultural difference in consumption of alcohol. Besides, individual preference may also have impact on the alcohol consumption. Some people like the taste of beer, as a result, they may not switch to wine even with high income.
In fact, I do not see how beer drinking shifting towards more wine reflect China's economy. IT can be individual preference or just the influence of globalization. If i can spend $100 on either beer or wine, and wine taste better, I'll go for wine. It does not mean your income's better then you'd prefer to drink more wine.
This is an interesting article mainly because it is so relevant to us as students. The way college students pick and choose to what to consume in terms of alcohol. Its also interesting to see what people would choose between different alcoholic beverages, like Tran and how he would buy wine over beer if he had 100$.
Interesting article. I just read an article another day saying China's demand for pecan has increased since the 80s, making China the largest market for US pecans.
First of all, I don't think people drink less as their income increases. I think they drink less because they are getting OLDER. Also, alcohol prices are different for each country, so you can't apply the $22,000 rule for everybody.
Wine price is generally higher than beer price though, so an increase in income could be correlated with an increase in wine consumption. But I don't think alcohol consumption rate could be a good predictor for economic performance.
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