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on Cultural Economics |
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Issue of 2025–06–16
five papers chosen by Roberto Zanola, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale |
| By: | Pietro Battiston; Marco Magnani; Dimitri Paolini; Luca Rossi |
| Abstract: | We analyze strategic behaviour with positional voting in the context of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). In the ESC, each country participates both as a candidate, by presenting an artist and a song, and as a voter, via jury members and televote, creating an ideal setting for the study of strategic voting. To determine the final ranking, the contest employs a modified version of Borda voting, where voters are prevented from voting for their country’s artist and song. Nevertheless, we find evidence of strategic behaviour among both industry experts (jury members), and televote. In both cases, voters tend to assign lower scores to close competitors of their country’s candidate. We compare strategic voting in the ESC semifinals, where little information on competitors’ strength is available, and strategic voting is more challenging, with the final, when more information has been revealed. Additionally, we investigate whether the intrinsic quality of songs or other external factors may explain our empirical observations, using data retrieved from Spotify and a specialized website. Beyond revealing that forbidding votes for one’s own candidates is not sufficient to eliminate strategic behaviour, our results underscore the crucial role of information provision, specifically the drawbacks of multistage voting procedures where information is revealed during the election. Overall, they highlight the main limitation of Borda voting as an alternative to plurality voting. |
| Keywords: | Strategic voting, Positional voting, Eurovision Song Contest |
| JEL: | D72 C72 Z11 |
| Date: | 2025–06–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pie:dsedps:2025/322 |
| By: | Micu, Daniel Marian; Arghiroiu, Georgiana Armenița; Micu, Ștefan; Beciu, Silviu |
| Abstract: | This study aims to analyze the differentiation strategies developed by sectoral brands in the global wine industry and how these strategies interrelate. A sectoral brand is defined as having a distinctive brand name accompanied by a visual identity, with or without a slogan. Through an analysis of thirty-three sectoral brands developed by wine-producing countries, seven clusters of differentiation strategies and three clusters of differentiation attributes were identified, using quantitative and qualitative methods. The findings highlight the alignment between the differentiation strategies employed by sectoral brands and the underlying theoretical concepts, as well as overlaps between differentiation strategies and specific attributes. The results identify unrevealed opportunities for wine-producing countries that have not yet developed sectoral brands. This study’s main contribution consists of the application of a cluster analysis approach, which enabled the identification and interpretation of relationships among sectoral wine brands based on their differentiation strategies. Accordingly, the research addresses a notable gap in the existing literature by providing an integrative perspective on how sectoral brands differentiate within the world wine market. The practical implications of this study include offering valuable guidance to countries currently lacking sectoral wine brands and presenting a structured framework to effectively leverage unique national attributes. |
| Keywords: | global wine market; global wine industry; competitive advantage; differentiation; cost leadership; sectoral brand; differentiation strategies; differentiation attributes; cluster analysis |
| JEL: | R14 J01 L81 |
| Date: | 2025–06–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128279 |
| By: | Lin, Runze |
| Abstract: | Migrants moving from highly restrictive cultural environments to liberal societies often initiate and escalate engagement with formerly prohibited behaviors—such as gambling, alcohol consumption, or recreational drug use. However, existing theories of acculturation, coping, and rebound fail to adequately explain how such behaviors begin in the first place (the 0→1 transition), especially among individuals with no prior history of participation. This paper introduces a novel conceptual model that distinguishes between the psychological mechanisms of initiation (“Forbidden Fruit Effect”) and escalation (“Rebound Effect”) in the context of addictive consumption. The model argues that sudden removal of prohibition triggers symbolic desire, latent craving, and identity realignment, leading to behavior initiation. Once initiated, behavioral repetition may intensify due to a rebound dynamic—where loosened constraints facilitate overcompensation. Drawing from cross-disciplinary insights in consumer behavior, addiction studies, and migration theory, this dual-stage model fills a critical theoretical gap. It also accounts for cultural differences in perceived constraint (legal, religious, or communal), offering implications for public health and marketing ethics in immigrant-receiving societies. This contribution advances understanding of risk behavior adoption as a staged, culturally contingent process in global consumer culture. |
| Date: | 2025–06–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:94tq2_v1 |
| By: | Ruixue Jia; James Kai-sing Kung |
| Abstract: | This study reviews the culture and institutions of Confucianism and explores their implications for the trajectory of China’s historical development. We trace the origins and evolution of the core elements of Confucianism and synthesize research on its relationship to clan culture, state institutions, and a broad array of societal values. We also highlight promising but underexplored directions for future research. While Confucianism is often invoked to explain China’s absence from the Industrial Revolution and its lack of democratization, we caution against such retrospective determinism. As a multidimensional and abstract tradition, Confucianism likely allows for varied interpretations and institutional adaptations across time and context. |
| JEL: | N15 O43 P51 Z10 Z13 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33883 |
| By: | Anjali Adukia; Emileigh Harrison |
| Abstract: | Curricula impart knowledge, instill values, and shape collective memory. Despite growing public funding for religious schools through U.S. school choice programs, little is known about what they teach. We examine textbooks from public schools, religious private schools, and home schools, applying computational methods—including AI tools—to measure the presence and portrayal of people, topics, and values over time. Despite narratives of political polarization, our findings reveal few meaningful differences between public school textbooks from Texas and California. However, religious school textbooks have less female representation, feature lighter-skinned individuals, and portray topics like evolution and religion differently. Over one-third of pages in each collection convey character values, with a higher proportion in religious school textbooks. Important similarities also emerge: all textbook collections rarely include LGBTQIA+ discussion, portray females in more positive but less active or powerful contexts than males, and depict the U.S. founding era and slavery in similar contexts. |
| JEL: | I0 I20 I21 I28 I29 J0 J10 J15 J16 J18 J19 Z10 Z11 Z12 Z13 Z18 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33791 |