nep-cul New Economics Papers
on Cultural Economics
Issue of 2010‒08‒28
two papers chosen by
Roberto Zanola
University Amedeo Avogadro

  1. Does Culture Matter? By Fernández, Raquel
  2. Targeting in Advertising Markets: Implications for Offline vs. Online Media By Dirk Bergemann; Alessandro Bonatti

  1. By: Fernández, Raquel (New York University)
    Abstract: This paper reviews the literature on culture and economics, focusing primarily on the epidemiological approach. The epidemiological approach studies the variation in outcomes across different immigrant groups residing in the same country. Immigrants presumably differ in their cultures but share a common institutional and economic environment. This allows one to separate the effect of culture from the original economic and institutional environment. This approach has been used to study a variety of issues, including female labor force participation, fertility, labor market regulation, redistribution, growth, and financial development among others.
    Keywords: culture, beliefs, preferences, norms
    JEL: O10 Z1 D01 D1
    Date: 2010–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5122&r=cul
  2. By: Dirk Bergemann (Cowles Foundation, Yale University); Alessandro Bonatti (MIT Sloan School of Management)
    Abstract: We develop a model with many advertisers (products) and many advertising markets (media). Each advertiser sells to a different segment of consumers, and each medium has a different ability to target advertising messages. We characterize the competitive equilibrium in the media markets and evaluate the implications of targeting in advertising markets. An increase in the targeting ability leads to an increase in the total number of purchases (matches), and hence in the social value of advertising. Yet, an improved targeting ability also increases the concentration of firms advertising in each market. Surprisingly, we then find that the equilibrium price of advertisements is first increasing, then decreasing in the targeting ability. We trace out the implications of targeting for competing media. We distinguish offline and online media by their targeting ability: low versus high. As consumers, relative exposure to online media increases, the revenues of offline media decrease, even though the price of advertising might increase.
    Keywords: Targeting, Advertising, Online advertising, Sponsored search, Media markets
    JEL: D44 D82 D83
    Date: 2010–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:1758r&r=cul

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