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on Cultural Economics |
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Issue of 2015‒06‒13
five papers chosen by Roberto Zanola Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro” |
| By: | Spolaore, Enrico; Wacziarg, Romain |
| Abstract: | We explore the interrelationships between various measures of cultural distance. We …first discuss measures of genetic distance, used in the recent economics literature to capture the degree of relatedness between countries. We next describe several classes of measures of linguistic, religious, and cultural distances. We introduce new measures of cultural distance based on differences in average answers to questions from the World Values Survey. Using a simple theoretical model we hypothesize that ancestral distance, measured by genetic distance, is positively correlated with linguistic, religious, and cultural distance. An empirical exploration of these correlations shows this to be the case. This empirical evidence is consistent with the view that genetic distance is a summary statistic for a wide array of cultural traits transmitted intergenerationally. |
| Keywords: | Ancestry; Barriers; Cladistics; Cultural distance; Genetic distance; Linguistic distance; Religious distance; World Values Survey |
| JEL: | F14 O11 O33 O47 O57 Z1 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10644&r=cul |
| By: | Nora Elena Espinal Monsalve; Jonathan Daniel Gómez Zapata; Andrey David Ramos Ramírez; María Camila Alzate Torres |
| Abstract: | La valoración de bienes de no mercado concernientes al Patrimonio Cultural se constituye en un campo de estudio reciente, generando cada vez más interés tanto por sus aportes teóricos como por sus aplicaciones empíricas. El objetivo de esta investigación es hallar por medio del método de Experimentos de Elección (EE) el valor económico asignado por los habitantes de la ciudad de Medellín al Museo de Arte Moderno (MAMM). Los resultados de esta valoración económica pueden proveer información importante para la gestión del museo, la orientación de la política cultural, la consolidación de un nuevo campo de estudio y la justificación de la participación pública y privada, y de la sociedad en general para la preservación de este tipo de organizaciones. |
| Keywords: | Bienes Públicos; Patrimonio Cultural; Experimentos de Elección; Bienestar Social; Disponibilidad a Pagar |
| JEL: | H41 D11 D60 D62 Z1 |
| Date: | 2014–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000418:013004&r=cul |
| By: | Damian Tambini |
| Abstract: | This article examines developments at public-service and state-administered media organizations based on a global sample of country case studies and selected secondary data. Most public-service and state media organizations have experienced a decline in revenue and audience and a tendency to weaken the program remit, but the overall direction of change is not one of uniform, marked, or irreversible decline. Although successful models of public service for the digital age have emerged, recent evidence suggests that neither the weakening of state broadcasters nor their reform into independent public-service media are inevitable results of digitization. |
| Keywords: | public service; state broadcasting; regulation; independence |
| JEL: | L91 L96 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:62187&r=cul |
| By: | Bauer, Thomas K.; Breidenbach, Philipp; Schmidt, Christoph M. |
| Abstract: | Using the location of baroque opera houses as a natural experiment, Falck et al. (2011) claim to document a positive causal effect of the supply of cultural goods on today's regional distribution of talents. This paper raises serious doubts on the validity of the identification strategy underlying these estimates, though. While we are able to replicate the original results, we proceed to show that the same empirical strategy also assigns positive causal effects to the location of historical brothels and breweries. These estimated effects are similar in size and signifi cance to those of historical opera houses. We document that all these estimates reflect the importance of institutions for long-run economic growth, and that the effect of historical amenities on the contemporary local share of high skilled workers disappears upon controlling for regions' historical importance. |
| Abstract: | Anhand der Standorte barocker Opernhäuser als natürliches Experiment zeigen Falck et al. (2011) einen positiven kausalen Effekt zwischen dem regionalen Angebot an Kulturgütern und der Verteilung talentierter Personen. Dieses Papier wirft allerdings Schwächen in der angewandten Identifikationsstrategie auf. Während die Originalergebnisse replizieren werden können, zeigen wir, dass diese Identifikationsstrategie ebenso positive Effekte für die Standorte von Bordellen und Brauereien der Barockzeit liefert, die in Größe und Signifikanz denen der Opern sehr ähneln. Mit der Einbeziehung von Verwaltungssitzen und Großstädten der Barockzeit zeigen wir, dass die Ergebnisse die Wichtigkeit der Institutionen widerspiegeln. Die Effekt der anderen historischen Gegebenheiten verschwinden, wenn für die institutionelle Wichtigkeit kontrolliert wird. |
| Keywords: | human capital,historical amenities,regional competiveness |
| JEL: | R11 H42 J24 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:493&r=cul |
| By: | Fulda, Barbara |
| Abstract: | How can we understand subnational differences in fertility rates? The most common explanations see the key to these differences in the socio-structural composition of a region's population and its structural conditions. However, such explanations fail to account for fertility rate differences in regions with similar populations and structures. This paper analyzes two social milieus in southern Germany and argues that variations in their fertility rates can only be understood through their cultural differences. Family extension patterns as well as opportunity structures (such as the availability of childcare facilities) are substantially influenced by the regionally differing cultural norms formed and held by social milieu members. To better explain differences in fertility rates and to understand the regionally differing effects of family policy measures, demographic research therefore needs to include culture in its understanding of demographic behavior. |
| Abstract: | Warum unterscheiden sich regionale Geburtenraten in Deutschland? Die Forschung begründet die großen Unterschiede mit der soziostrukturellen Zusammensetzung der Bevölkerung und den strukturellen Bedingungen einer Region. Unterschiede der Fertilitätsraten zwischen Regionen, deren Bevölkerung und Struktur sich ähneln, können hierdurch jedoch nicht erklärt werden. Die Analyse zweier sozialer Milieus in Süddeutschland zeigt, dass kulturelle Unterschiede ein weiterer wichtiger Erklärungsfaktor sind. Erstens werden strukturelle Gegebenheiten (zum Beispiel Angebote der Kinderbetreuung und das Vereinsleben) durch die Angehörigen eines sozialen Milieus als Träger regionaler sozialer Normen ausgestaltet, was Auswirkungen auf die Lebensbedingungen von Familien hat. Zweitens werden Milieumitglieder durch diese kulturelle Normen in ihrem Familienerweiterungsverhalten beeinflusst. Um regional unterschiedliche Auswirkungen familienpolitischer Maßnahmen auf Fertilitätsraten zu verstehen, sollte zukünftige demografische Forschung kulturelle Unterschiede berücksichtigen. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:mpifgd:154&r=cul |