The protection of Geographical Indications (GIs) is being explored more and more worldwide as a tool for supporting local sustainable development. Focusing on wine and coffee value chains, this paper will set out in what way GI protection schemes can contribute to the provision of public goods, and illustrate how this contribution is being threatened by different failures that may occur within both valorization strategies and legal protection policies. By examining how private, collective, and public interventions front these failures, this paper will put forward economic arguments supporting a more comprehensive policy approach, to ensure GIs’ contribution to sustainable development.
