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This paper studies a Green Public Procurement (GPP) policy decided by the Swedish government in 2006, stating objectives related to organic farming. The policy aims to increase the public sector's organic food purchases, in order to incentivise Swedish farmers to convert to organic practices, thereby contributing to national environmental quality objectives. We analyse the effect of organic food procurement on organic agricultural land, using panel data from 2003 to 2016 including information on municipalities' organic food purchases, land use, and direct subsidies aimed at organic production. Based on different specifications and mainly FGLS estimations, we conclude that the 2006 organic food policy is associated with a significant positive impact on organic agricultural land. A significant effect of direct agricultural policy in the form of subsidies is also found.

This paper analyses the uptake of a voluntary green public procurement policy in Sweden. The policy, decided in 2006, stated a national goal for the public sector to increase its share of organic food purchases to 25% by 2010. The overall purpose was to increase organic farming. Municipalities, which are highly independent authorities with self-determination, were encouraged to formulate own political goals. Based on survey data on organic food purchases for the period 2003–2016, supplemented with data on municipality characteristics, we analyse the determinants of the local uptake of the national policy, accounting for potential selection bias. The main finding is that local political goals are set and that these have in turn, a significant and positive effect on the share of organic food purchases. This suggests that there is an uptake of the voluntary policy. Also, we find that the increase in expenditures per capita devoted to organic food is quite substantial following the adoption of a local policy.

Increasing the production of organic food is becoming an important environmental target for many governments, and consumer demand for organic food is pivotal in reaching these targets. This paper studies consumer demand for organic and conventional milk, using weekly scanner data from the Swedish retail market for the years 2011–2017. Own- and cross-price elasticities of demand are estimated using a quadratic almost ideal demand system. While previous studies on this topic show that demand for organic milk is commonly more price elastic than for its conventional alternative, this paper complements previous literature by (i) studying a market with relatively small organic price premiums, (ii) using a highly representative sample of retailers, and (iii) differentiating between private labels and brands. Results show that demand for organic milk is relatively elastic, despite relatively small organic price premiums in the Swedish milk market. Results also show that demand for branded products is, generally, less elastic compared to private label products, suggesting that consumers have strong preferences for traditional, regional brands.

Although much empirical work addresses the efficiency of food supply chains by studying price transmission, studies on quality-differentiated food are scarce, and particularly for organic food vis-á-vis conventional food. This study adds to this scarce literature by analysing wholesale to retail price transmission for organic and conventional milk in the Swedish milk sector, using time-series analysis applied to monthly price data for the period Jan 2007–Nov 2017. Estimations are performed using the non-linear ARDL model which allows for asymmetric cointegration of prices and a simultaneous analysis of short- and long-run asymmetry, the latter of which has been largely overlooked in previous studies. In the case of conventional milk, results indicate positive asymmetries both in the short-run and the long-run. For organic milk, the long-run positive asymmetry is smaller and not statistically significant in all specifications. Organic consumers are therefore likely to experience smaller differences between surplus losses and gains, following positive and negative wholesale price changes, respectively.