Children of performing arts,the economic dilemma: The climbing costs of health care and education

Journal of Cultural Economics -     

An economic model of artistic behavior

Conclusion What we have accomplished is to provide a framework in which artists are seen as economic individuals who base decisions on the same set of factors as nonartists. We are uncomfortable with the notion that artists are a special breed who are not responsive to economic incentives. We are also uncomfortable with the notion that nonartists could never be artists. However, the model as presented does allow for the possibility that an artist will incorrectly estimate the worth of his or her works, and continue to pursue an artistic career. It also allows for the possibility that some nonartists may also make the wrong choice and pursue a nonartistic career instead of an artistic one.     

The economic impact of intellectual property rights: An overview and guide

This paper, adapted from a conference presentation in Venice, links the history of intellectual property protection to two important trends in this field: (1) the shifting baseline, from a presumption of no property rights and open competition, to the presumption that all intellectual effort deserves the award of a property right; and (2) growing awareness of the political economy of these rights, which legislators can create and strengthen with little direct effect on government budgets. The paper also considers a shift in the scholarly emphasis, from the brand question of the overall worth of intellectual property to defailed consideration of individual doctrines and rules.     

Communication and identity management in a globally-connected classroom: An online international and intercultural learning experience

Though global classrooms are designed to expose students to varied cultural knowledges and experiences, how students consider and display their own identities in cross-cultural exchange has yet to be fully interrogated. This study focuses on U.S. college students who participated in a series of online conversations with learners in Singapore. Grounded in Goffman's sociological work and based on Hecht's communication theory of identity, this article focuses on students’ conceptions of themselves relative to others, and perceptions of identity work in cross-cultural conversations. Limitations tied to this project and avenues for future research on intercultural communication classroom practice are considered.     

Cultural determinants of economic growth: Theory and evidence

Shortcomings of neoclassical growth theory and growth accounting are viewed as a challenge for cultural economics. Recently, new growth theory has introduced several growth determinants and has closed the gap between theoretical and empirical research. Whether this development leaves space for cultural determinants in explaining economic growth is in the center of this paper. The theoretical analysis shows how an endogenous growth model can be used to explain the impact on economic growth of cultural determinants. The empirical part uses indices from cross-cultural studies to extend recent cross-country growth regressions. Among other Hofstedes uncertainty avoidance index is shown to be significantly correlated with economic growth.Discussion paper presented at the 9th international conference of the Association for Cultural Economics, Boston, May 8–11, 1996.     

Federal support of basic research: Some economic issues

Summary There is no necessary connection between leadership in basic science and leadership in the applications of science, because scientific progress is a cooperative endeavour and not a competitive game; indeed, there may be a conflict between basic research and applied science. The notion of a position of leadership; in science raises questions of what leadership consists in and what its value is to the nation. The two main arguments for government support of science are cultural-social, and economic. The cultural-social argument stresses scientific activity as a form of social consumption of wealth and raises the question of whether other uses of the resources employed would contribute more to the greatness of the society. The economic argument stresses basic scientific research as a form of investment for the future, and raises the questions of what the rate of return on such investment is and whether and to what extent government support is called for. Relevant economic research results bearing on this problem are scarce. Economic theory suggests that competition in the market will supply less than the optimal amount of basic research; but our society substantially supplements the market through private contributions to and government support of science, and the question is whether this supplementation is deficient or excessive. Here difficult problems arise, on which more economic research is needed; one of these concerns the relative merits of government and private support of science. The rule-of-thumb procedures generally recommended for determining the volume and allocation of government support to basic scientific research generally ignore these problems, and amount to endorsing the present level of government support or recommending that it be increased. Allocation of federal support of science should take account of the possibility of stimulating the economic development of poor regions of the country by locating scientific research facilities in them.