|
on Cultural Economics |
|
Issue of 2015‒07‒25
five papers chosen by Roberto Zanola Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro” |
| By: | Stefano DellaVigna; Eliana La Ferrara |
| Abstract: | In this survey, we review the literature on the impact of exposure to the media. We cast a wide net and cover media impacts on education, family choices, labor and migration decisions, environmental choices, health, crime, public economics, attitudes, consumption and savings, and development economics. We stress five themes. First, the demand for entertainment plays a key role, with the economic impacts emerging largely as by-products. Second, to understand the media effects one cannot just focus on the direct effect of exposure but one needs to take into account the crowding-out of alternative activities (substitution effect). Third, the sources of identification play a critical role in determining what is known: credible estimates of short- and long run effects are available for some topics and some media but not for others. Fourth, most of the evidence on social and economic impacts is for exposure to the entertainment media such as television, as opposed to the printed press. Fifth, for the policy impacts both the substitution effect of media exposure and the demand for entertainment play an important role. |
| JEL: | A13 D01 D10 H4 I10 I20 J0 K42 L82 L96 O10 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21360&r=cul |
| By: | Hanka Sladkova (Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague) |
| Abstract: | If media reflect and create the reality we believe to be living, visual arts no longer seem to be part of this reality. Role, form and content of texts interpreting, evaluating and describing arts are unclear and vaguely defined. So are the values, audiences, platforms and authors that have changed significantly over the last couple decades. The contemporary art is quite difficult, no longer visually “pleasant” (often not visual at all), missing most of the attributes we tend to connect it with: it is un-aesthetic, un-decorative, un-plastic, un-material, un-pictorial, un-displayed, un-documented, no longer using the visual means or media… Given the evolution of visual arts, how has arts-writing reflected the changes its subject has been going through? Is reading about art helping us read art? Are media enabling audiences to notice visual arts or are “pictures” no longer in the picture? Should we re-define the arts journalism / arts criticism or does it still function the way it is supposed to? And if not, who is to be blamed? How do we keep our arts sensitivity and arts literacy if arts reflection is no longer part of the media content and even if it is, its quality is limiting its impact? The Czech arts and arts writing have been seemingly undergoing particular changes as part of the country’s politics and society transformation after the 1989. Comparing the situation of arts journalism in Czech Republic and other countries, surprisingly they all match quite similar pattern. Is this just a phase or is this the arts journalism 2.0? |
| Keywords: | arts journalism, arts literacy, media, arts reflection, visual arts, arts writting, contemporary art |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:2604214&r=cul |
| By: | Wenjuan Zuo (Wuhan Media and Communications College of Central China Normal University) |
| Abstract: | The recent case between Qiong Yao, a famous Chinese writer, and the screenwriter/director Yu Zheng has raised much controversy within the Chinese society. In this case, Yu has been accused of infringing Qiong’s copyright work by shooting it into a movie without license. Irrespective of the vast social influences, the case per se, from a legal perspective, is not as heavily disputed. However, for those who work in the media industry, this case raises the alarm that China as a country has gradually formed the idea of copyright protection. This process inevitably will be a painful one since most of the media workers, in the process of pursuing goals with media values such as unveiling the truth of a event, and the production of a media innovation such as a type of new television program, can no longer ignore the effects of copyright law on media innovation during the age of new media. Existing literature fails to examine the myriad relationship between copyright law and media to clearly indicate the role that copyright law should play in the media sector.This paper analyzes the rationales behind the Chinese media culture and answers why media worker in China, in the transition period of new media, have often lack the incentives or motivations in media innovation. This can be exemplified by the fact that Chinese tends to buy licensed TV programs such as “China’s Got Talent” or the “Where Is My Father”, the copyright of which belong to foreign owned corporations. This paper seeks to answer this question from the perspective of the relationship between copyright law protection and media, i.e., is copyright law an impeding factor that serves to hold back media production innovation? If so, how should the conflict between law and media innovation be resolved? The prevailing principle of “the idea and expression dichotomy”, from the perspective that idea is not legally protected but only expression is, has caused considerable confusion among media workers. What seems to be a perfectly reasonable legal principle might appear absolutely unreasonable in the media industry. This paper conducts interdisciplinary research on the effects of copyright law on Chinese media.The conclusion of this case will contribute to clarifying existing confusions between copyright law and media as described above, and strives to conclude a guidance that Chinese media workers can follow in pursuing media achievements while not violating copyright laws. |
| Keywords: | Chinese Copyright Law, Media Innovation in China, Law and Media, Chinese TV program |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:2603809&r=cul |
| By: | Dorel N Manitiu (Alma-Laurea Inter-University consortium; SDIC-School of Development Innovation and Change, Bologna (Italy)); Giulio Pedrini (Alma-Laurea Inter-University consortium; SDIC-School of Development Innovation and Change, Bologna (Italy)) |
| Abstract: | The aim of the paper is to define a set of smartness and sustainability indicators applicable to European cities and to assess their outcome in an ex-ante perspective with regard to the implementation of Europe 2020 strategy. Following the DPSIR (Driving forces, Pressures, State, Impact, Response) model we select a bundle of indicators for three relevant sustainability domains (environmental, social, cultural), which are proper of the smart city definition. Then we define groups of homogeneous cities for each domain by using a two-step cluster analysis. Results show the existence of heterogeneous groups of cities that are likely to become smart in the cultural domain, side by side to groups of more developed urban areas that have acquired a substantial advantage in the environmental and social dimensions. |
| Keywords: | smartness, sustainability, urban areas, Europe 2020, DPSIR model |
| JEL: | Q01 R29 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:srt:wpaper:1315&r=cul |
| By: | Nakamura, Leonard I. (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia); Soloveichik, Rachel (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis) |
| Abstract: | “Free” consumer entertainment and information from the Internet, largely supported by advertising revenues, has had a major impact on consumer behavior. Some economists believe that measured gross domestic product (GDP) growth since 2000 is too low because it excludes online entertainment (Brynjolfsson and Oh 2012; Ito 2013). Similar large effects on consumers occurred with the arrival of free radio and television entertainment. We provide an experimental methodology that uses previously established GDP measurement procedures to value advertising-supported entertainment around the world. The experimental method raises global real GDP growth, but the increase is small. It is true that advertising-supported online entertainment has grown dramatically since 2000. Concurrently, advertising-supported print entertainment has been stagnant. The net impact is a real growth rate of 7.6% per year for advertising-supported entertainment. Furthermore, advertising-supported entertainment accounts for less than 0.5% of global GDP. As a result, our experimental methodology only raises overall real GDP growth by 0.019% per year. Across countries, the experimental methodology raises nominal inequality. In 2011, nominal GDP for nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) increased by 0.18% more than nominal GDP in the rest of the world. Furthermore, nominal GDP in the United States increased 0.22% more than GDP in the rest of the OECD countries. However, prices for advertising-supported entertainment are also higher in wealthier nations. The net impact is a small reduction in real inequality. |
| Keywords: | Advertising; Entertainment; Internet; Intangible; Measurement |
| JEL: | E01 L82 M37 |
| Date: | 2015–07–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedpwp:15-25&r=cul |