| Abstract: |
When studying the problem of the emergence of superstars, scholars face great
difficulties in measuring talent, obtaining confidential data on earnings, and
finding econometric techniques that lead to results that are robust to the
presence of outliers (superstars). In this paper we use an original dataset
from the Pokemon trading card game in which (i) there is no unidentifiable
heterogeneity and (ii) all characteristics of individuals are public domain.
To prevent the results to be distored by the presence of outliers, we estimate
the " fair " price of each individual, using the robust " Least Trimmed of
Squares " regression technique in a hedonic prices framework, and check the
effective price at which they are sold. This allows to identify superstars,
i.e. individuals that are sold at a price which represents several times their
intrinsec value. We find that the two main theories of superstars developed by
Rosen (1981), who awards a central importance to talent, and by Adler (1985),
who awards more importance to the need of consumers to share a common culture
are complementary and not mutually exclusive as is often claimed. |