nep-cul New Economics Papers
on Cultural Economics
Issue of 2008‒10‒21
three papers chosen by
Roberto Zanola
University of the Piemonte Orientale

  1. Soap Operas and Fertility: Evidence from Brazil By Eliana La Ferrara Author-X-Name_First: Eliana Author-X-Name_Last: La Ferrara; Alberto Chong Author-X-Name_First: Alberto Author-X-Name_Last: Chong; Suzanne Duryea Author-X-Name_First: Suzanne Author-X-Name_Last: Duryea
  2. Pricing and Multi-Market Contact in the Cable TV Industry By Robert Seamans; ;
  3. Creative China? The University, Tolerance and Talent in Chinese Regional Development By Florida, Richard; Mellander, Charlotta; Qian, Haifeng

  1. By: Eliana La Ferrara Author-X-Name_First: Eliana Author-X-Name_Last: La Ferrara; Alberto Chong Author-X-Name_First: Alberto Author-X-Name_Last: Chong; Suzanne Duryea Author-X-Name_First: Suzanne Author-X-Name_Last: Duryea
    Abstract: This paper focuses on fertility choices in Brazil, a country where soap operas (novelas) portray families that are much smaller than in reality, to study the effects of television on individual behavior. Using Census data for the period 1970-1991, the paper finds that women living in areas covered by the Globo signal have significantly lower fertility. The effect is strongest for women of lower socioeconomic status and for women in the central and late phases of their fertility cycle. Finally, the paper provides evidence that novelas, rather than television in general, affected individual choices.
    Date: 2008–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:wpaper:4573&r=cul
  2. By: Robert Seamans (Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley); ;
    Abstract: This paper links empirical literature on the use of price as an entry deterring mechanism with literature on the effect of multi-market contact on competition. The analysis uses a dataset of cable TV system prices to provide evidence that incumbent cable TV firms use price to deter entry by telecom overbuilders as well as cities with municipal utilities. There is also some evidence that multi-market contact with telecom overbuilders results in lower prices. However, there is no evidence that incumbents use price to deter cable overbuilders. In addition to linking entry deterrence with multi-market contact, this study has two other unique features. First, it establishes entry deterrence using two techniques, one of which relies on theory by Ellison and Ellison (2008) on non-monotonic price decreases in response to entry probability. Second, it uses detailed price and channel data at the service tier level.
    Keywords: price, entry, public enterprises, multi-market contact
    JEL: L11 L13 L32 L82
    Date: 2008–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:net:wpaper:0813&r=cul
  3. By: Florida, Richard (Martin Prosperity Institute); Mellander, Charlotta (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology); Qian, Haifeng (School of Public Policy, George Mason University)
    Abstract: The relationships between talent, technology and regional development have been widely examined in the advanced economies. While there is a general consensus as to the important role talent plays in regional development, debate has emerged on two key issues. The first involves the efficacy of educational (i.e. human capital) versus occupational (i.e. the creative class) measures of talent; the second involves the factors affecting the distribution of talent. In this study, we have used structural equation models and path analysis. We employed both educational and occupational measures of talent to examine the relationships between talent, technology and regional economic performance in China, and to isolate the effects of tolerance, differing levels of consumer service amenities, and the location of universities on the distribution of talent. Contrary to the findings of empirical studies on the developed economies, we found the relationships between the distribution of talent and technology and between the distribution of talent and regional economic performance in China to be weak. We found the presence of universities – a factor highly influenced by government policy – and the actual stock of talent to be strongly related. We also found that tolerance, as measured by the “Hukou index,” plays an important role in the distribution of talent and technology in China.
    Keywords: China; Talent; Human Capital; Creative Class; Tolerance; Technology; Regional Development
    JEL: O30 P30 R12
    Date: 2008–10–13
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0145&r=cul

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