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on Cultural Economics |
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Issue of 2024‒11‒04
five papers chosen by Roberto Zanola, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale |
| By: | Simon Levy; Maxime L. D. Nicolas |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a novel approach to evaluating blue-chip art as a viable asset class for portfolio diversification. We present the Arte-Blue Chip Index, an index that tracks 100 top-performing artists based on 81, 891 public transactions from 157 artists across 584 auction houses over the period 1990 to 2024. By comparing blue-chip art price trends with stock market fluctuations, our index provides insights into the risk and return profile of blue-chip art investments. Our analysis demonstrates that a 20% allocation of blue-chip art in a diversified portfolio enhances risk-adjusted returns by around 20%, while maintaining volatility levels similar to the S&P 500. |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2409.18816 |
| By: | Max Nathan; Henry G. Overman; Capucine Riom; Maria Sanchez-Vidal |
| Abstract: | This paper considers the impact of a major public sector relocation: the British Broadcasting Corporation's partial move from London to Salford, Greater Manchester starting in 2011. We identify effects of the move using synthetic control methods applied to plant-level data at Local Authority and Travel to Work Area level. Each BBC job creates on average 0.33 additional jobs in the creative industries, rising to 0.55 additional jobs by 2017, and the relocation had an impact on sectoral and firm composition. We find no significant effect on total employment but a small positive effect on Local Authority average wages. |
| Keywords: | cities, public employment, local multipliers, relocation, creative industries, policy evaluation |
| Date: | 2024–10–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2042 |
| By: | Kamelamela, Katie L.; Chamberlain, James; Lehman, Ashley D.; Sprecher, Irene; Friday, James B.; Ticktin, Tamara |
| Abstract: | The Hawaiian Islands are an isolated archipelago in the Pacific Ocean with diverse forests covering 1.5 million ac—36 percent of Hawaiʻi’s total land area. These forests produce wood for local use and support trade, yet large-scale timber production has never been significant in Hawaiʻi. In contrast, nontimber forest products (NTFPs), have been foundational to the culture and economy of the state throughout history and continue to be elemental to contemporary society. The rich variety of NTFPs sourced from Hawaiian forests can be observed at diverse social events and informal gatherings. Species used as NTFPs are harvested for a wide range of reasons, including food, medicine, art, textiles, floral garments, floral displays, weaving, and cultural ceremonies. They are harvested and used by people of all ages and socioeconomic classes and support cultural heritage, identity, and connection to nature. Despite these values, there is little information on the reliance, variety, and amounts of NTFPs harvested from Hawaiian forests. Documenting the types, amounts, spatial distribution of harvesting, and current and projected demand and uses for NTFPs is critical to understanding the management needs of these forests and their social, ecological, and economic values to Hawaiʻi residents. This study used multiple methods to document NTFPs, their uses, and significance. Methods included summarizing state collection permits, interviewing and surveying stakeholders, and observing uses at cultural events. We identified more than 140 plant species harvested and used as NTFPs. Thirty-eight percent were native or endemic to Hawaiʻi. Almost all the permits issued by the state were for personal use. Interviews and surveys indicated a strong link between product use and people’s connections to spiritual values, cultural rights, and the land. We found that endemic species, such as maile (Alyxia stellata), palapalai (Microlepia strigosa), ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha), and koa (Acacia koa) had high market value, were under extreme pressure, and would benefit as priority targets for management, conservation, and nature-based development. Findings from this study could guide management plans and actions to conserve Hawaiʻi’s vast forest diversity and cultural economy. |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use, Marketing, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Sustainability |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:usdami:347426 |
| By: | Anne-Ga\"elle Maltese Pierre Pelletier; R\'emy Guichardaz |
| Abstract: | Creativity is a fundamental pillar of human expression and a driving force behind innovation, yet it now stands at a crossroads. As artificial intelligence advances at an astonishing pace, the question arises: can machines match and potentially surpass human creativity? This study investigates the creative performance of artificial intelligence (AI) compared to humans by analyzing the effects of two distinct prompting strategies (a Naive and an Expert AI) on AI and across three different tasks (Text, Draw and Alternative Uses tasks). Human external evaluators have scored creative outputs generated by humans and AI, and these subjective creative scores were complemented with objective measures based on quantitative measurements and NLP tools. The results reveal that AI generally outperforms humans in creative tasks, though this advantage is nuanced by the specific nature of each task and the chosen creativity criteria. Ultimately, while AI demonstrates superior performance in certain creative domains, our results suggest that integrating human feedback is crucial for maximizing AI's creative potential. |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2409.18776 |
| By: | Kym Anderson |
| Abstract: | Globalization may have reduced but certainly has not eliminated differences in national commodity cycles. This article examines the case of Australia’s wine industry. Over the past four decades, all annual indicators of that industry’s international competitiveness have traced a steep inverted V. This paper draws on recently compiled data to first summarize such indicators and contrast them with those of other key wine-exporting countries. It then offers a series of partial explanations for the industry’s sharp rise and then equally steep fall in its international competitiveness (and its several bumps along the way). The New Zealand and Californian wine industry’s prolonged expansions in particular are contrasted with Australia’s. Despite the current downturn in the industry’s fortunes, and notwithstanding the likelihood of further boom-slump cycles in the decades ahead, the paper concludes that a return to profitability is possible if vignerons and wine exporters were to raise their current rates of investments in R&D, quality improvements and promotion, and if the AUD remains relatively weak. |
| JEL: | D12 F15 L66 N10 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:papers:2024-10 |