Do cultural differences affect the trade of cultural goods? A study in trade of music

This study investigates the impact of cultural differences on trade decision and trade volume of cultural goods, using the data of traded music compact discs (CDs). According to ethnomusicological and civilization classifications, we classify countries into several groups and make novel variables that properly represent the cultural differences. We use the gravity model of trade proposed in Helpman et al. (The Quarterly Journal of Economics 123(2):441–487, 2008), which is utilized to avoid selection and endogeneity biases of estimation. In addition, we exploit an identifying assumption on the types of consumers, so that one of the cultural variables can satisfy the exclusion restriction in our two-stage estimation procedure. Our empirical hypothesis is that the trade volume of music is larger between two countries with greater cultural familiarity. The empirical results show that cultural differences have significant influences on the trading decision and volume of music traded in addition to the traditional determinants of trade. This finding supports our hypothesis that cultural familiarity promotes the cultural goods trade.     

The buy-out/property right share choice in film financing: Financial rationing,adverse selection and the bayesian dilemma

Reduced state support of film financing in Europe requires the creation of an efficient market of private cinema financiers. Principal-agent models with and without common consent over film risk show that the two main problems of film financing (high risk and lack of collateral for the borrower) may be solved if the financier achieves economies of scale in costs of capital and is efficient in information gathering. Conversely, the pathology of a market with inefficient financiers includes: film financial rationing, adverse selection, and refusal of financial support to otherwise profitable film projects. From the normative point of view, the creation of efficient financiers would be fostered by institutional changes that promote market thickening and risk spreading (the case of the USA) instead of simple forms of risk shifting (the case of Italy).     

International trade in cultural goods: A cross-sectional analysis

Both industrialized and developing countries have historically applied various trade barriers to protect their domestic cultural industries. International trade statistics show that highly populated countries such as the U.S. have exerted a general pattern of cultural influence over the rest of the world through export of films, music, books, and periodicals. The following empirical study suggests that trade barriers effectively increase the net export of cultural products. While domestic market size seems to factor significantly into the trade for films and prercorded music, protectionism based on the economies of scale argument does not find widespread support among cultural industries.     

Rational addiction and cultural goods: the case of the Italian theatregoer

This paper tests whether demand for theatre in Italy is consistent with the model of rational addiction presented in Becker and Murphy (J Polit Econ 96(4):675–700, 1988). Data from a novel 34-year panel on regional annual theatre attendance are used to estimate market demand. Four models are applied to investigate the demand function, and all of these also include per capita income and other control variables as regressors. The first two models are estimated to check whether theatregoers are myopically addicted to theatre. The results suggest that the theatre is an addictive good because past consumption (and prices) significantly raises the marginal utility of current consumption. The third model tests the rational addiction hypothesis, which assumes that future attendance also influences current attendance, whilst past and future prices influence current attendance only indirectly through their impact on past and future attendances. However, our most highly specified model, introducing past and future prices, demonstrates that Italian theatregoers are not myopic but fully rational as outlined in Becker and Murphy (1988). The results demonstrate that the rational addiction hypothesis is applicable not only to “harmful” addictions such as alcohol, cigarettes and drug consumption, but also to “beneficial” addictions, such as theatre attendance. This result has important policy implications because theatre is one of the most subsidised performing arts in Italy; if theatregoers are fully rational, policy makers can influence theatre attendance using alternative policy instruments (price and income), thereby reducing government expenditure on theatre subsidies.     

Examining Interprofessional Education Through the Lens of Interdisciplinarity: Power,Knowledge and New Ontological Subjects

Interprofessional education (IPE) – students of different professions learning together, from and about each other – is increasingly common in health professional degrees. Despite its explicit aims of transforming identities, practices and relationships within/across health professions, IPE remains under-theorised sociologically, with most IPE scholarship focussed on evaluating specific interventions. In particular, the significance of a shared knowledge base for shaping professional power and subjectivity in IPE has been overlooked. In this paper we begin to develop a framework for theorising IPE in allied health, by drawing parallels with a cognate area in which there has already been fruitful conceptual development: interdisciplinarity. Specifically, we offer a worked example of how the two areas may be brought into dialogue, by deploying Barry, Born and Weszkalnys’ (2008) conceptualisation of interdisciplinarity as a lens for understanding IPE. Following Barry et al. (2008) we delineate a number of ‘modes’ and ‘logics’ of knowledge-production that emerge both in IPE literature and in our own empirical study of IPE. Our empirical data are drawn from 32 semi-structured interviews with 19 allied health students participating in an IPE curriculum at one Australian university. Findings point to the emergence of interprofessional practitioner identities among students that have the potential to undermine traditional epistemological boundaries and transcend role-based distinctions in future health profession(al)s. We argue that Barry et al.’s ‘logic of ontology’ sheds light on previously unidentified processes of transformation within IPE, and offers a theoretical framework that can explain the importance of a shared pan-professional knowledge base for the reflexive individual construction of new interprofessional ontological subjects.     

The ‘diaspora advantage’ of Pauline Chan (1956–): from multicultural filmmaker to cultural broker

ABSTRACT

This is the first academic paper to critically introduce and document the 30-year screen career of Pauline Chan, Australia’s highest profile Chinese film director, television actress and media producer. Sydney-based, Vietnam-born, Hong Kong-educated and US-trained, Chan has directed six films, starred in 14 and produced four television series and films. Despite her prolific career, there has been no sustained research on her profile and repertoire. This paper evaluates the evolution of Chan’s career using the diaspora ‘advantage’ as a new approach. Characterised by mobility rather than culturalism, the term refers to the benefits brought by and skills of diaspora groups that have allowed them to flourish as transnational actors able to leverage resources in both their countries of origin and settlement. It begins by elaborating how Chan’s diaspora advantage has allowed her to challenge welfare multiculturalism and extend aesthetic multiculturalism. It further documents her transition from a multicultural filmmaker to a cultural intermediary by leveraging her diasporic advantage across the film sectors in China and Australia, and opening up new industrial routes outside of the confines of policy. Using interdisciplinary methods to screen biography that include interviews with the filmmaker, film archival research, critical cultural policy studies, and studies in Asian Australian cinema and political economy, this paper argues that the new approach of the diaspora advantage turns the deficit associated with the diaspora into a dividend that has the potential to rethink the imaginary between Asia and Australia.     

Movie Stars and the Distribution of Financially Successful Films in the Motion Picture Industry

Audiences choose to see films using information from previous films. A stochastic consumer choice process based on this assumption generates a particular distribution of financially successful films among film types. Movie stars can be used to mark these successful film types. Thus, their star power originates not only from box-office appeal but also from marking power. Evidence of 960 top 20 films released in the United States and Canada between 1940–1955 and 1960–1995 is consistent with this model.     

Intellectual property rights and U.S. information goods exports: the role of imitation threat

Trade in information goods is particularly sensitive to the strength of intellectual property rights (IPR) and encounters an apparently different pattern of imitation threat compared with manufacturing trade, but the information goods trade–IPR nexus is less systematically investigated. This article analyzes whether and how U.S. information goods exports are sensitive to national differences in IPR protection and the degree of threat-of-imitation from the dynamic perspective. Employing the technique of instrumental variables for a dynamic panel model to consider the hysteretic effect and controlling the endogeneity problem, the empirical results show that the strength of the importing country’s IPR protection overall exhibits a trade-enhancing effect, supporting the standpoint that stronger IPR protection will induce more trade. Moreover, we adopt the piracy rate as a proxy for threat-of-imitation to examine its role on the information goods trade–IPR nexus. Empirical findings validate the prevalence of the market expansion effect wherever the degree of imitation threat of importing countries is high or low, because the technology level and production cost of reproduction are very low. It implies that the existing theory on threat-of-imitation may not apply to the information goods trade.

To Be or Not To Be?—China's Cultural Policy and Counterhegemony Strategy Toward Global Hollywood from 1994 to 2000

Abstract

The study critically reviews China's cultural policy and counterhegemony strategy against global Hollywood from 1994 to 2000. The central argument is that the Chinese government's strategy of using the so-called main melody propagandistic films to battle against Hollywood from 1994 to 2000 is ineffective in terms of film market recouped and quality films produced, but may be considered partially successful in terms of the technological renovation of film exhibition infrastructure. The reason lies in the conflict between a planned production and a market demand, plus an ambivalent explanation of the function of the film industry and an unclear definition of the cultural policy. This conflict not only speaks to the complexity of global-local interplay, but also reflects the fundamental dilemma of China's “one-party market economy” (Kahn, 2002, ¶ 2), and its contradictory perspective on globalization. The study also revisits the thesis of “cultural imperialism” and calls for a more synthesized way to explain the complex global-local dialectic.     

Commercial success and artistic recognition of motion picture projects

This article introduces a model derived from the relational view of strategy to investigate (1) the impact of track record and financial resources on the commercial success and artistic recognition of cinema projects, and (2) the relationship between the commercial and artistic dimensions of film performance. Structural equation modeling carried out on 2,080 feature films released in the North-American theatrical market from 1988 to 1997 illustrates the mediating role of financial resources as catalysts of commercial and artistic track record resources, and unearths important conclusions relative to the specific dynamics of resource combinations in cinema projects. Results also reveal a novel hierarchy of lead actors, directors, and producers in the explanation of film performance. Last, they confirm the precedence of commercial success in the USA, and the symbolic and institutional status of US cinema as being primarily an industry.     

Optimal timing of movie releases in ancillary markets: The case of video releases

The optimal time for the release of a film in the video market is derived theoretically and shown to depend on characteristics of its cinema performance and on several other parameters. It is empirically confirmed that the model can explain the changing film release patterns in the years of video market growth. The model can also be applied to other ancillary markets for motion pictures as well as to paperback releases of books.     

Fairness constraints on profit-seeking: evidence from the German club concert industry

Unlike Kahneman et al. (Am Econ Rev 76(4):728–741, 1986) iconic snow shovel, live music is a performance good that fans attach a particular value to. Hence, an artist’s pricing decision might differ from standard rent-seeking behavior. In this paper, I propose a model that incorporates fairness concerns into the pricing decision for concert tickets. The hypotheses derived from this model are tested on data from the German club concert industry. The results are consistent with the model: Although (1) price dispersion is the dominant pricing strategy in the club concert industry and artists prefer to perform on a Friday or Saturday night, (2) artists do not set higher prices on the weekend. These results are consistent with fairness constraints, but are difficult to explain within a standard profit maximization framework. As a third result, (3) the data reveal that ticket prices are positively correlated with a city’s number of inhabitants .     

Balancing the score: the financial impact of resource dependence on symphony orchestras

Expenses in the performing arts have historically increased at a rate faster than earned revenues due to the labour reliance of the sector. Flanagan (The perilous life of symphony orchestras: artistic triumphs and economic challenges. Yale University Press, New York, 2012) found that US symphony orchestras were able to avoid the negative consequences of this earning gap by fostering strong private support. In the present study, we find that, in contexts where private funding is not as readily accessible, like in Canada, arts organizations have more incentive to keep expenses under control. This can be understood in terms of resource dependence where government funding bodies, due to a homogeneous set of demands, put pressure on organizations to control their expenses and reach greater audiences. Using panel data covering a period of 8 years and forty-eight orchestras, the results show that Canadian orchestras, when compared to US ones, achieve a lower rate of expense increases over time and are more reactive to economic downturns.     

Purchasing power parity and cultural convergence: evidence from the global video games market

A shared activity or pursuit can have the effect of bringing about cultural convergence in the form of patterns of behaviour and consumption. This idea is supported by the Axelrod (1997) thesis, which suggests that cultures are more likely to interact and subsequently converge if they have shared traits: one of these being the use of technology. This paper seeks to apply such a cultural perspective to the body of published literature on deviations from the law of one price. Adopting a similar methodology to the popular ‘Big Mac’ index, disparity between official market exchange rate and the real rate of exchange between two currencies is measured using local prices of video game consoles. The results of the study suggest that, while a degree of pricing and cultural convergence across broad geographic areas is observed, many major global currencies are trading at levels that are quite significantly different to that which is suggested by purchasing power parity (PPP) theory.

How do class,status, ethnicity,and religiosity shape cultural omnivorousness in Israel?

In this article we study the determinants of cultural participation in Israel with an emphasis on the Weberian distinction between class and status. The class measure is based on occupational groupings, and status is operationalized as a rank of occupations based on social distance. We expect that class will be less important than status in shaping cultural participation patterns. In addition, due to the importance of ethnicity and religiosity in Israeli society, we expect that these factors will be significant in shaping cultural participation. Data are based on two telephone surveys conducted in 2006 and 2007 of a random sample of the Jewish population in Israel. We find that, contrary to our expectation, class is more influential than status. We also find that ethnicity and religiosity are important factors that shape cultural participation patterns. We discuss possible explanations to the finding regarding class and status, with special attention to the role cultural policy plays in mediating the economic effect on consumer behavior. We also call for more attention to ethnicity and religiosity in studies of cultural stratification.

Netflix: global hegemon or facilitator of frictionless digital trade?

Trade in cultural products has traditionally been constrained by a combination of law and technology. In Europe, digital sellers based in a given EU country are not always able to distribute across borders. In January 2016, US-based Netflix announced an expansion to 243 countries, accomplishing cross-border distribution through business strategy. Changes in law or technology that facilitate cross-national cultural trade have traditionally drawn the concern of observers worried about the cultural heritage—and products—of small markets. The expansion raises questions about what Netflix is doing. Is it a cultural hegemon, distributing US fare into 243 countries? Or it is a facilitator of free trade, making the products of even small countries more available outside their home markets (relative to traditional distribution)? And how does the curated model—which limits the number of movies the platform wants to distribute—affect Netflix’s function? To shed light on these questions, we develop a new measure of the global availability of a repertoire, the value-weighted geographic reach. Using this measure we find, first, that Netflix makes many of the works from a wide variety of countries available in many other countries. Second, we find that theatrical distribution strongly advantages US-origin fare. Third, the pattern of origin repertoire available through Netflix also favors the USA, although less overwhelmingly. Moreover, many countries are relatively advantaged by their Netflix availability patterns. Finally, we discuss some issues related to the Netflix platform, including horizontal competition with other platforms, vertical struggles with content providers (and its backward integration into production), and we speculate on possible challenges for regulators.     

Thawing the North: Mostly Martha as a German-Italian Eatopia

Abstract

The establishment of the European Union, reunification of Germany, and Germany's extension of dual citizenship to immigrant minorities provided challenges to the country's understanding of itself as a nation. In negotiating these changes, debates on citizenship frequently centered on definitions of German culture. Using the concept of Leitkultur (guiding culture), conservatives argued that Germany should reject multiculturalism and stem immigration. This essay analyzes discourses on cultural policy in Germany through a contextual and textual analysis of the film Mostly Martha. In its alignment with aesthetic conventions of the art house food film, Mostly Martha participates in the debate on cultural citizenship and embodies changes in the German film industry that have moved German cinema toward increased commercialism. The film's main character, Martha, is transformed through an intercultural relationship and a trip to Italy. We argue that the film's citation of this well-known tradition of traveling south to redeem oneself and its treatment of ethnic “Otherness” engages in the Leitkultur debate and participates in the transition from national German to transnational cinema. Through the utopian treatment of Italian food, the film fetishizes cultural difference and reaffirms fixed constructs of nation and gender, thereby avoiding an explicitly politicized engagement with intercultural citizenship and identity.     

Does film criticism affect box office earnings? Evidence from movies released in the U.S. in 2003

In a market characterized by a very large number of consumers, irregularly and infrequently choosing from a constantly changing menu of possibilities, widely available impartial information and advice would be expected to make a significant impact on demand. In the U.S. in 2003, however, there was zero correlation between critical ratings for films and gross box office earnings. For movies released on more than 1,000 screens, critical ratings were indeed positively related to gross earnings, and, together with production budgets and the number of opening screens, explained more than half the variance. But films with only limited opening release received higher average ratings. This is especially the case for foreign movies and documentaries but also true for American films, whose ratings, though positively related to the box office, seldom have enough influence to propel a movie into later wide exhibition or high earnings.

On the Real Limits of Self‐consciousness: Gazing Back at the Subversive Subject with Marco Bellocchio

Abstract

This article looks at Marco Bellocchio’s 2002 film My Mother’s Smile to re‐assess the central feature of Bellocchio’s cinema, i.e. its attempt to delineate a subjective strategy of subversion against a social order perceived as fundamentally repressive. In line with the director’s previous output, the film takes the Catholic Church and the family as its explicit polemical targets, endeavouring to unmask the nefarious ideological pressure they exercise on the ordinary individual in today’s Italian society. However, my reading draws on Lacanian psychoanalytic theory to try and locate the disavowed (unconscious) kernel of Bellocchio’s narrative. Deploying Lacan’s controversial musings on ‘the gaze’, ‘desire’ and ‘femininity’, I suggest that the true stance of rebellion voiced by the film’s protagonist hinges on his recognition that the inconsistency of the ideological predicament he consciously struggles against paradoxically coincides with the traumatic inconsistency at the heart of his own attitude of defiance.     

Moral Economies in Science: From Ideal to Pragmatic

In the following pages we discuss three historical cases of moral economies in science: Drosophila genetics, late twentieth century American astronomy, and collaborations between American drug companies and medical scientists in the interwar years. An examination of the most striking differences and similarities between these examples, and the conflicts internal to them, reveals constitutive features of moral economies, and the ways in which they are formed, negotiated, and altered. We critically evaluate these three examples through the filters of rational choice, utility, and American pragmatism, using the latter to support the conclusion that there is no single vision of moral economies in science and no single theory—moral, political, social—that will explain them. These filters may not be the only means through which to evaluate the moral economies examined, but aspects of each appear prominent in all three cases. In addition, explanations for decisions are often given in the language of these theories, both at the macro (policy) level and at the local level of the moral economies we discuss. In light of such factors, the use of these frameworks seems justified. We begin with an attempt to define the nature of moral economies, then move to a consideration of scientific communities as moral communities operating within material and other constraints which we relate to wider questions of political economy and societal accountabilities.