| Abstract: |
Key studies have explored the economics of rising stars, superstars and ‘has
beens’, but relatively little economic literature exists on the associated
parallel memorabilia markets. Using a random sample of 1151 pieces of
autographed artefacts, on sale through a retail and internet outlet, hedonic
analysis is undertaken to elicit significant characteristics in price
determination. The data principally consists of autographs of past and current
cultural icons along with some sporting and historical figures. We explore,
inter alia, price differences with respect to ‘dead’ or ‘alive’ signatories,
gender, sphere of fame, nationality, the age of the signatory and the nature
of the artefact on which the signature is written. Alternative model
specifications have been explored and compared. A notable difference emerges
between those autographs with photographs and those without. There are also
differences in prices according to whether individuals had been famous for
their roles in just films, just television, or in both. |