A Critical Analysis of Socioeconomic Importance and Role of Geographical Indications in Developing Countries

The article brings a perspective of the role and importance of geographical indications (GIs) in developing and emerging countries. GIs became potential tools capable of enhancing local socioeconomic indices, through the protection and valorization of the product and region itself. Therefore, academic papers that addressed the implementation and management of GIs in countries with different levels of development were analyzed in a systematic angle. The articles were researched and collected with the help of Scopus and Web of Science databases. The research is classified as exploratory and bibliographical, based on critical reading of 40 articles. Among them, some demonstrate the process of implementation and development of GIs, inasmuch as the challenges they face. Others analyze the internal structural issues and strategy planning of GIs as a collective arrangement. Another portion measures and analyzes the image that a GI transmits as a brand to consumers. From this analysis, it was verified that none of the articles specifically relates or examines geographical indication capability as a development leverage tool for developing countries / regions, finding a gap in the theoretical framework of the area and the need for studies and practical cases that demonstrate this relationship, since many regions benefit from that.