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on Cultural Economics |
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Issue of 2016‒03‒29
five papers chosen by Roberto Zanola Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale |
| By: | Cheung, Man-Wah; WU, JIABIN |
| Abstract: | This paper generalizes the discrete cultural transmission model proposed by Bisin and Verdier (2001) to continuous trait space. The resulting cultural evolutionary dynamic can be characterized by a continuous imitative dynamic in a population game in which a player's payoff is equal to the aggregate cultural intolerance he has towards other agents. We show that cultural heterogeneity is always preserved. In addition, we model each agent's cultural intolerance towards another agent as an increasing function of cultural distance --- the distance between that other agent's trait and his own trait in the trait space. This captures people's general tendencies of evaluating culturally more distant people with stronger biases, and it is most easily modeled on a continuous trait space. We find that the curvature of the cultural intolerance function plays an important role in determining the long-run cultural phenomena. In particular, when cultural intolerance is a convex function of cultural distance, only the most extremely polarized state is a stable limit point. |
| Keywords: | Cultural transmission, Continuous trait space, Cultural evolution, Imitative Dynamic, Polarization |
| JEL: | A14 C72 C73 D10 Z13 |
| Date: | 2016–03–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69934&r=cul |
| By: | Thomas Dee; Emily Penner |
| Abstract: | An extensive theoretical and qualitative literature stresses the promise of instructional practices and content aligned with the cultural experiences of minority students. Ethnic studies courses provide a growing but controversial example of such “culturally relevant pedagogy.” However, the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of these courses is limited. In this study, we estimate the causal effects of an ethnic studies curriculum piloted in several San Francisco high schools. We rely on a “fuzzy” regression discontinuity design based on the fact that several schools assigned students with eighth-grade GPAs below a threshold to take the course in ninth grade. Our results indicate that assignment to this course increased ninth-grade student attendance by 21 percentage points, GPA by 1.4 grade points, and credits earned by 23. These surprisingly large effects are consistent with the hypothesis that the course reduced dropout rates and suggest that culturally relevant teaching, when implemented in a supportive, high-fidelity context, can provide effective support to at-risk students. |
| JEL: | I0 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21865&r=cul |
| By: | Edgar A. Whitley |
| Keywords: | tacit knowledge; editor; plagiarism |
| JEL: | J50 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:64881&r=cul |
| By: | Anderson, Simon; Jullien, Bruno |
| Abstract: | This chapter focuses on the economic mechanisms at work in recent models of advertising finance in media markets developed around the concept of two-sided markets. The objective is to highlight new and original insights from this approach, and to clarify the conceptual aspects. The chapter first develops a canonical model of two-sided markets for advertising, where platforms deliver content to consumers and resell their "attention" to advertisers. A key distinction is drawn between free media and pay media, where the former result from the combination of valuable consumer attention and low ad nuisance cost. The first part discusses various conceptual issues such as equilibrium concepts and the nature of inefficiencies in advertising markets, and concrete issues such as congestion and second-degree discrimination. The second part is devoted to recent contributions on issues arising when consumers patronize multiple platforms. In this case, platforms can only charge incremental values to advertisers which reduces their market power and affects their price strategies and advertising levels. The last part discusses the implications of the two-sided nature of the media markets for the choice of content and diversity. |
| Keywords: | Two-sided markets, ad-financed business model, single-homing consumers, competitive bottlenecks, multi-homing consumers, media see-saws, advertising congestion, genre choice, equilibrium platform variety. |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:30311&r=cul |
| By: | Jasiewicz, Justyna; Filiciak, Mirosław; Mierzecka, Anna; Śliwowski, Kamil; Klimczuk, Andrzej; Kisilowska, Małgorzata; Tarkowski, Alek; Zadrożny, Jacek |
| Abstract: | Operational Programme Digital Poland - "Priority axis III: Digital competences of the society" focuses on raising digital activity in order to allow fully use possibilities of high-speed Internet and new public e-services. It comprises four actions including Training activities for development of digital competences with allocation of 180 mln PLN (divided into two competitions dedicated to NGOs). The point of reference for all the projects of the axis III is a document named The framework catalogue of digital competences. An important assumption of the catalogue is the connection between the digital competences and the users' needs and the benefits that they may gain in the key areas of life. The document, commissioned by the Ministry of Administration and Digitization, is of vital importance in the implementation of the new model in recognizing digital competences- the relational model. |
| Keywords: | Employability Skills,Digital Competences,Digital Skills and Litearacy,Digital Economy |
| JEL: | I20 J24 L86 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esrepo:128611&r=cul |