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on Cultural Economics |
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Issue of 2005‒02‒20
six papers chosen by Roberto Zanola Universita egli Studi del Piemonte Orientale |
| By: | Patrick Legros |
| Date: | 2005–02–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cla:levrem:666156000000000502&r=cul |
| By: | Canoy,Marcel; Ours,Jan C. van; Ploeg,Frederick van der (Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | The tensions between books and book markets as expressions of culture and books as products in profit-making businesses are analysed and insights from the theory of industrial organisation are given. Governments intervene in the market for books through laws concerning prices of books, grants for authors and publishers, a lower value-added tax, public libraries and education in order to stimulate the diversity of books on offer, increase the density of retail outlets and to promote reading. An overview of the different ways by which countries differ in terms of market structures and government policies is given. Particular attention is paid to retail price maintenance. Due to differences between European countries it is not a good idea to harmonise European book policies. Our analysis suggests that the book market seems quite able to invent solutions to specific problems of the book trade and that, apart from promoting reading, there is little need for government intervention. |
| JEL: | Z11 D4 D6 L1 L4 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:kubcen:200513&r=cul |
| By: | Hua Wang (World Bank); Craig Meisner (World Bank); Benoît Laplante |
| Abstract: | Laplante, Meisner, and Wang present a study of willingness-to-pay of the Armenian Diaspora in the United States to protect Armenia’s Lake Sevan, a unique and precious symbol of the Armenian cultural heritage. Dichotomous choice contingent valuation questions were asked in mail surveys to elicit respondents’ willingness to pay for the protection of Lake Sevan. The results show that on average, each household of the Armenian Diaspora in the United States would be willing to provide a one-time donation of approximately US$80 to prevent a further degradation of Lake Sevan, and approximately US$280 to restore the quality of the lake by increasing its water level by three meters. This paper—a product of the Infrastructure and Environment Team, Development Research Group—is part of a larger effort in the group to understand environmental economics. |
| Keywords: | Environment; Globalization |
| Date: | 2005–02–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3520&r=cul |
| By: | Dolfsma, W. (Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), RSM Erasmus University) |
| Abstract: | The music industry is currently subject to changes influenced by ongoing digitalisation and informatization that are unprecedented. Other sectors can expect to undergo in the near future what the media industry is going through now – the movie industry being a prime suspect. Each day, some 600,000 copies of movies are exchanged via the Internet, most of these in violation of the copyright laws. The disruptive nature of technological development makes that the market for entertainment products and other content undergoes fundamental changes. Where ‘content’ used to be exchanged attached to a physical carrier, increasingly it has the features of an information product. |
| Keywords: | internet market;digital content;product differentiation;price discrimination;consumer as subcontractor;product development; |
| Date: | 2004–06–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:eureri:30001460&r=cul |
| By: | Dolfsma, W. (Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), RSM Erasmus University) |
| Abstract: | Fashion is the quintessential post-modernist consumer practice, or so many hold. In this contribution, I argue that, on the contrary, fashion should be understood as a means of communicating one's commitment to modernist values. I introduce the framework of the Social Value Network, to relate such values to institutionalised consumption behaviour, allowing one to signal to others. Modernist values are not homogenous, and are in important ways contradictory, giving rise to the dynamics of fashion that can be observed. |
| Keywords: | consumption;modernism;fashion;identity;symbolic goods; |
| Date: | 2004–06–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:eureri:30001459&r=cul |
| By: | Dekimpe, M.G.; Skiera, Bernd (Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), RSM Erasmus University) |
| Abstract: | In the literature, little attention has been paid to instances where companies add an Internet channel to their direct channel portfolio. However, actively managing multiple sales channels requires knowing the customers’ channel preferences and the resulting channel power. Two key components of channel power are (i) the existing customers’ intrinsic loyalty to a channel, and (ii) the channel’s ability to attract new customers. We apply the Colombo and Morrison (1989) model to analyze the channel loyalty and conquesting power of two direct channels operated by a given firm. In addition, we analyze the evolution over time in each channel’s power, and test for differences in channel power among different product categories offered by the firm, and among different customer segments. |
| Keywords: | channel power;internet marketing;channel loyalty;conquesting power;Colombo-Morrison model; |
| Date: | 2004–06–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:eureri:30001463&r=cul |