nep-cul New Economics Papers
on Cultural Economics
Issue of 2009‒08‒08
three papers chosen by
Roberto Zanola
University of the Piemonte Orientale

  1. Television Viewing, Satisfaction and Happiness: Facts and Fiction By Marco Gui; Luca Stanca
  2. WHEN DOES THE PRICE AFFECT THE TASTE? RESULTS FROM A WINE EXPERIMENT By Almenberg, Johan; Dreber, Anna
  3. MEASURING THE SUCCESS OF COUNTRY FOOTBALL CLUBS By Lionel Frost; Abdel K. Halabi

  1. By: Marco Gui; Luca Stanca
    Abstract: Despite the increasing consumption of new media, watching television remains the most important leisure activity worldwide. Research on audience reactions has demostrated that there are major contradictions between television consumption and the satisfaction obtained from this activity. Similar findings have also emerged in the relationship between TV consumption and overall well-being. This paper argues that television viewing can provide a major example where consumption choices do not maximize satisfaction. We review the evidence on the welfare effects of TV consumption choices, focusing on two complementary dimensions: consumption satisfaction and overall well-being Within each of these two dimensions, we consider both absolute and relative over-consumption, referring to quantity and content of television viewing, respectively. We find that research in different social sciences provides evidence of overconsumption in television viewing. The relevance of these findings for consumption of new media is discussed in the conclusions.
    Keywords: satisfaction, rationality, media consumption, television
    JEL: D12 D91 I31 J22
    Date: 2009–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mib:wpaper:167&r=cul
  2. By: Almenberg, Johan; Dreber, Anna
    Abstract: We designed an experiment that examines how knowledge about the price of a good, and the time at which the information is received, affects how the good is experienced. The good in question was wine, and the price was either high or low. Our results suggest that hosts offering wine to guests can safely reveal the price: much is gained if the wine is expensive, and little is lost if it is cheap. Disclosing the high price before tasting the wine produces considerably higher ratings, although only from women. Disclosing the low price, by contrast, does not result in lower ratings. Our finding indicates that price not only serves to clear markets, it also serves as a marketing tool; it influences expectations that in turn shape a consumerâs experience. In addition, our results suggest that men and women respond differently to attribute information.
    Keywords: Price-Quality Heuristic, Attribute Information, Role of Expectations, Marketing, Blind Tasting, Wine, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, C91, D03, D83, M31,
    Date: 2009–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aawewp:51755&r=cul
  3. By: Lionel Frost; Abdel K. Halabi
    Abstract: Until the last quarter of the twentieth century, non-metropolitan Australian Rules football clubs prospered as volunteer organisations, operating in regions that were protected by distance from clubs in larger, competing leagues. They acted as places that people valued and were important components of social capital in their communities, and in turn, received subsidies from other community groups that reduced operating costs. Clubs appear to have measured success in terms of their ability to attract the talent needed to build a winning team that would boost the prestige of both the club and its local community. The Victorian Football League’s regulations about player payment and mobility gave country football clubs the opportunity to offer attractive terms to League players, and this prevented the game’s most powerful league, from crowding out its rivals. The circumstances that were favourable to country football clubs have changed with the formation of a major league, the Australian Football League. The televising of matches nationwide allowed people in even remote regions to watch AFL games. Economic and demographic decline in country areas, greater mobility and the lure of metropolitan jobs has made it difficult for clubs to retain players. In this challenging economic environment, many country football clubs have been unable to survive in their own right. This paper reports on a survey of administrators of Victorian country football clubs as to their perceptions of what constitutes ‘success’ in this new environment. It provides information about how individual clubs are responding to broad changes that are beyond their control, and offers evidence about the ability of local football clubs to continue to play their traditional role as places of importance and generators of social capital in regional communities.
    Date: 2009–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2007-16&r=cul

This nep-cul issue is ©2009 by Roberto Zanola. It is provided as is without any express or implied warranty. It may be freely redistributed in whole or in part for any purpose. If distributed in part, please include this notice.
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