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on Cultural Economics |
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Issue of 2014‒11‒01
five papers chosen by Roberto Zanola Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro” |
| By: | Valter di Giacinto (Bank of Italy); Giacinto Micucci (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an empirical evaluation of the main determinants of hotel prices in the Italian tourism industry. We pool information from two datasets: i) a database on hotel prices and attributes based on the Touring Club Italia Guide and providing information on about 1,100 hotels located in almost 300 towns in the entire Italian coastal region; and ii) a set of neighbourhood characteristics indicators that assess local environmental quality and artistic and cultural attractiveness. On the basis of the results of a hedonic analysis of hotel price differentials, we show that tourists place a high value on both marine environmental quality and local access to artistic and cultural amenities. The contribution to consumer utility is sizeable in both cases, but that of artistic and cultural amenities appears to be more stable across seasons. On the whole, our results suggest that the widespread availability of an extraordinarily rich artistic and cultural endowment, as is the case of Italy, may strongly complement environmental attributes in supporting the non-price competitiveness of the coastal tourism industry. |
| Keywords: | tourism; environment; artistic and cultural attractiveness |
| JEL: | L83 Q53 R11 Z11 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_975_14&r=cul |
| By: | Jenny Cardenas-Ayala (Universidad Federal Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil); Leandro Valiati (Universidad Federal Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil) |
| Abstract: | The growing internationalization process and the desire to be competitive in a globalized world, has recently sparked interest in the symbolic dimension, cultural identity, creative development, communications and knowledge as a source of economic development. This research aims to analyze how cultural and creative industries have a positive impact on international trade flows of the countries of South America. It is used the panel data methodology for the period 2002-2011 and it is considered that trade flows are determined by the inclusion of cultural indicators, technological innovation factors and socioeconomic characteristics. |
| Keywords: | creative industries, cultural industries, qualified international trade flows, panel data |
| JEL: | C33 F14 O31 O54 Z1 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cue:wpaper:awp-05-2014&r=cul |
| By: | Fabio Sabatini (University of Rome - La Sapienza); Eiji Yamamura (Seinan Gakuin University) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the role of mass media in people's perceptions of charismatic leaders, focusing on the case of Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. Using survey data collected immediately after Koizumi's 2005 landslide electoral victory, this study empirically assesses the influence of television (TV) and newspapers on individuals' support for Koizumi and for the most distinctive policy action he announced during his campaign - the privatization of the postal service. The major findings are: (1) the frequency of exposure to mass media is positively related to the support for Koizumi but not for his principal policy and (2) a significant impact of TV is only observed among women. The habit of reading newspapers only slightly correlates with men's support for Koizumi. Our study's results suggest that compared to a political platform, charisma and attractiveness wield a greater influence on TV watchers of the opposite sex. Television apparently works as a powerful amplifier of leaders' appealing attributes. The resulting superstar effect may allow a charismatic candidate to win an election, even though his main agenda item (i.e., postal privatization) is strongly opposed by special interest groups and members of the ruling party. |
| Keywords: | mass media, television, newspapers, elections, Koizumi administration, Japan, superstar effect |
| JEL: | D72 L88 L82 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ent:wpaper:wp56&r=cul |
| By: | Tobias Kretschmer; Christian Peukert |
| Abstract: | Making video clips of a song unavailable on YouTube has no effect on its sales on iTunes; but album sales suffer when video clips of a song from it are made unavailable on YouTube. These findings of a study by Tobias Kretschmer and Christian Peukert suggest that we need not worry too much about today's equivalent of the old slogan 'Home taping is killing music'. Their research investigates whether digital sales of songs and albums suffer from videos of the material being freely available online, using a performing rights controversy in Germany that led to far more videos being blocked there than elsewhere: no other country in the world has less access to popular music content on YouTube than Germany, not even South Sudan or Afghanistan. The findings suggest that different digital channels interact in intricate ways - and availability on one can influence success on another. |
| Keywords: | Sampling, displacement, promotion, natural experiment |
| JEL: | L82 M37 D83 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepcnp:431&r=cul |
| By: | Abdallah Salami (NYU Stern School of Business, 44 West 4th Street, New York, NY 10012 USA); Robert Seamans (NYU Stern School of Business, 44 West 4th Street, New York, NY 10012 USA) |
| Abstract: | How has the Internet affected newspaper content? We build a dataset that matches newspaper readability measures to Internet penetration at the county-year level from 2000 – 2008. We document a positive relationship between Internet penetration and newspaper readability. This result appears remarkably robust. The relationship is evident in non-parametric graphs of the raw data, annual cross-sections and panel data models. Our cross section results rely on an instrumental variables approach that uses lightning strikes to instrument for Internet penetration. Thus, contrary to a commonly held belief that the Internet is “dumbing down” content, we find evidence supporting the opposite hypothesis: newspaper content appears to be getting more sophisticated in response to increased Internet penetration. |
| Keywords: | Internet; newspapers; quality; readability; broadband access |
| JEL: | L15 L25 L86 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:net:wpaper:1413&r=cul |