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on Cultural Economics |
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Issue of 2024‒04‒01
six papers chosen by Roberto Zanola, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale |
| By: | Corey J.M. Williams (Shippensburg University); Kole Reddig (West Virginia University); Adam Nowak (West Virginia University) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effect of production commitments on consumers of collectable goods.Using data on prices for Magic: The Gathering trading cards, we estimate that the reprinting of certain card varieties caused a 34% decrease in the relative price of reprinted cards. We interpret this estimate with a model of a forward-looking consumer that views collectibles as both a source of enjoyment and a store of wealth. Using a mapping between structural parameters of the model and difference-in-difference sregression parameters, we compute lifetime discounted utility decreased by as much as 14% for collectors holding mainly reprinted cards. |
| Keywords: | production commitments; secondary markets; collectibles; demand estimation |
| JEL: | D4 L1 L2 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wvu:wpaper:24-03&r=cul |
| By: | S. Alex Yang; Angela Huyue Zhang |
| Abstract: | The rapid advancement of generative AI is poised to disrupt the creative industry. Amidst the immense excitement for this new technology, its future development and applications in the creative industry hinge crucially upon two copyright issues: 1) the compensation to creators whose content has been used to train generative AI models (the fair use standard); and 2) the eligibility of AI-generated content for copyright protection (AI-copyrightability). While both issues have ignited heated debates among academics and practitioners, most analysis has focused on their challenges posed to existing copyright doctrines. In this paper, we aim to better understand the economic implications of these two regulatory issues and their interactions. By constructing a dynamic model with endogenous content creation and AI model development, we unravel the impacts of the fair use standard and AI-copyrightability on AI development, AI company profit, creators income, and consumer welfare, and how these impacts are influenced by various economic and operational factors. For example, while generous fair use (use data for AI training without compensating the creator) benefits all parties when abundant training data exists, it can hurt creators and consumers when such data is scarce. Similarly, stronger AI-copyrightability (AI content enjoys more copyright protection) could hinder AI development and reduce social welfare. Our analysis also highlights the complex interplay between these two copyright issues. For instance, when existing training data is scarce, generous fair use may be preferred only when AI-copyrightability is weak. Our findings underscore the need for policymakers to embrace a dynamic, context-specific approach in making regulatory decisions and provide insights for business leaders navigating the complexities of the global regulatory environment. |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2402.17801&r=cul |
| By: | Mathias Bühler; Andrew Dickens; Andrew C. Dickens |
| Abstract: | We document the importance of local information in mass media for the political engagement of citizens and accountability of politicians. We study this in the context of Canada, where until 1958, competition in television markets was suppressed—Canadians received either public or private television content, but never both. While public television provided national-level informational content, private television content was distinctly local and more politically relevant to voters. We find that the introduction of television reduced voter turnout, but that this effect is exclusive to public television districts. Our findings qualify existing knowledge about the political effects of the rollout of new media, by allowing the informational content to vary while holding the media type constant. We support our argument with evidence from parliamentary debates: politicians from districts with private television are more likely to speak and act on behalf of their constituents in Parliament. Our findings thus suggest that politicians are held accountable by relevant media content. |
| Keywords: | media content, television, voting, political engagement, political accountability, natural language processing |
| JEL: | D72 L82 N42 N92 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10959&r=cul |
| By: | Claire Estagnasié (UQAM - Université du Québec à Montréal = University of Québec in Montréal, UCA - Université Côte d'Azur, GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Côte d'Azur, LabCMO - Laboratoire de communication médiatisée par ordinateur - UQAM - Université du Québec à Montréal = University of Québec in Montréal, CIRST - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur la science et la technologie - UdeM - Université de Montréal - UQAM - Université du Québec à Montréal = University of Québec in Montréal, RECOR - Groupe de recherche sur la Communication Organisante) |
| Abstract: | From a critical perspective and based on a comprehensive approach, this contribution intends to initiate a reflection on creative work in the context of ovid 19 on people working in the creative industries. Individuals working in these sectors are often self-employed workers with various precarious contracts, being responsible for their own employability, with reference to the concept of "self-production" proposed by André Gortz. We mobilize the concept of "meta-work", which means work allowing work according to Salzman & Palen (2004), to understand how nurturing one's creativity becomes a tool of the "meta-work" of workers who must produce their own employability. Our empirical data resulting from qualitative interviews with six people working in the creative industries in Quebec and in France made it possible to identify axes of analysis, through a method of grounded theory. This allowed us to understand the nurturing of creativity as a condition of employability through the prism of what we call "creative meta-work". This research, taking place in the distant context of the covid- 19, revealed that the creative professions would have been more affected than those of other industries, since the distance made even more difficult the 'creative meta-work' of nurturing their creativity during informal experiences and interactions. |
| Abstract: | S'inscrivant dans une perspective critique et s'appuyant sur une démarche compréhensive, cette contribution entend amorcer une réflexion sur le travail créatif dans le contexte de la covid-19 sur les personnes travaillant dans les industries créatives. Les individus évoluant dans ces secteurs sont souvent des travailleurs autonomes cumulant divers contrats précaires, étant alors responsables de leur propre employabilité, en référence au concept de « production de soi » proposé par André Gortz. Nous mobilisons le concept de « métatravail », c'est-à-dire de travail permettant le travail selon Salzman & Palen (2004), afin de comprendre comment entretenir sa créativité devient un outil du « métatravail » des travailleurs et travailleuses qui doivent produire leur propre employabilité. Nos données empiriques issues d'entretiens qualitatifs avec six personnes travaillant dans les industries créatives au Québec et en France ont permis de dégager des axes d'analyse, selon une méthode de théorie ancrée. Cela nous a permis de comprendre l'entretien de la créativité comme condition de l'employabilité au prisme de ce que nous appelons un « métatravail créatif ». Cette recherche, s'inscrivant dans le contexte distancié de la Covid-19, a révélé que les métiers créatifs auraient été plus touchés que ceux des autres industries, puisque la distance a rendu encore plus difficile le « métatravail créatif » consistant à nourrir leur créativité lors d'expériences et interactions informelles. |
| Keywords: | self-production, creative meta-work, remote work, Covid-19, creative industries, creative professions, creativity, travail à distance, industries créatives, métiers créatifs, créativité, production de soi, métatravail créatif |
| Date: | 2022–05–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04450906&r=cul |
| By: | Carl Singleton (Economics Division, University of Stirling); Adrian r. Bell (Henley Business School, University of Reading); Andy Chung (Department of Economics, University of Reading); J. James Reade (Department of Economics, University of Reading); Andrew Urquhart (Henley Business School, University of Reading) |
| Abstract: | Anecdotal evidence suggests that co-location with an English Premier League (EPL) football team can boost university recruitment. But when a town or city loses its EPL team, it also loses some of the world’s attention. We test whether the EPL limelight does in fact affect university recruitment in England and Wales. We exploit the sharp annual cutoff between survival and relegation from the EPL, comparing the admissions outcomes of universities that have clear name association either side of that discontinuity. On average, losing association with an EPL team, for just one year after its relegation, significantly reduces a university’s undergraduate year-to-year admissions growth by 4-7 percent. These findings suggest not only that the EPL generates local externalities but also that university executives should support their local teams. |
| Keywords: | professional football, relegation, local economy, regression-discontinuity design, higher education demand |
| JEL: | I20 R19 Z20 |
| Date: | 2024–03–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rdg:emxxdp:em-dp2024-02&r=cul |
| By: | Janßen, Rebecca; Ribar, Matthew K. |
| Abstract: | Review systems including quantitative measures as well as text-based expression of experiences are omnipresent in today's digital platform economy. This paper studies the existence of reputation inflation, i.e. unjustified increases in ratings, with a special focus of heterogeneity between experienced and non-experienced users. Using data on more than 5 million reviews from an online wine platform we compare consistency between numerical feedback and textual reviews as well as sentiment measures. We show that overall the wine platform displays strongly increasing numerical feedback over our time period from 2014 to 2020 while this is not the case for our control measures. This gap appears to be even stronger for users with less experience or expertise in wine reviewing. We conclude, that online platforms as well as potential customers should be aware of the phenomenon of reputation inflation and simplifying feedback to one number might do a disservice to review platforms' goal of providing a representative quality assessment. |
| Keywords: | reputation inflation, online reviews, expert reviews, sentiment, text data |
| JEL: | C53 D02 L15 L81 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:283613&r=cul |