Lead–lag relationship between household cultural expenditures and business cycles

This paper empirically examines how household cultural expenditures correspond to business cycles in Japan. Since income level is among the most important determinants of cultural demand, and income fluctuates with business cycles, examining the relationship between cultural expenditures and business cycles is useful, particularly in discussing income elasticity of cultural demand. The data used are monthly household expenditures for movies, live performances, and cultural establishments in the Family Income and Expenditure Survey. Turning points for cultural expenditures and related indicators are determined by estimating the regime-switching model. The lead–lag relationship between these series and the reference dates of Japanese business cycles are analyzed. The result indicates that cultural expenditures fluctuate cyclically with unstable leads and lags corresponding to business cycles. In addition, cultural expenditures adhere to smaller specific cycles within officially designated expansions, which imply that income elasticity has not been constant during past business cycles.     

The political economy of cultural spending: evidence from Italian cities

We investigate the relationship between Italian municipalities’ spending on culture in the 1990s and 2000s and a number of political variables—such as a left/right dummy, an election-year dummy and a term-limit indicator—controlling, among other things, for economic and socio-demographic characteristics of the population, the level of human capital and instruction, proxies of social capital, the extent of private financing of cultural provisions and touristic and artistic relevance. We use a panel-data regression analysis and find that, indeed, some determinants of public expenditures on culture are political. In particular, we identify an electoral cycle in which the incumbent spends less on culture in an election year. This result is robust for variations in the empirical model accounting for both the persistence and spatial interdependence of cultural expenditures by municipalities.     

Analysis of the consumption of artistic-cultural goods and services in Brazil

This work aims to evaluate the determinants of the consumption of artistic-cultural goods and services in Brazil, conceiving this consumption as an activity with positive effects on the consumer and on the society as a whole. Using the human capital approach, we estimate a model in which the expenditures on artistic-cultural goods and services depend on socio-economic, educational and socio-demographic characteristics of the head of the household, and on variables that indicate the location of the household. The results indicate that artistic-cultural expenditures are strongly determined by income and by the education of the consumer. Furthermore, the expenditure differs regionally, which may occur due to supply variations or historic-cultural distinctions.     

Determinants of Public Cultural Expenditures: An Exploratory Time Series Analysis for Austria

Austria calls itself a ``cultural nation' as the arts, the performing arts (theaters) and museums, in particular, play an important role in public debate. However, the question arises as to whether public cultural expenditures as an indication of the significance of cultural policy are really as important when compared to other policy fields as political parties and the government try to suggest. A time series of public cultural expenditures for the period from 1967 to 1998 is taken as a basis for testing econometrically whether public expenditures (measured primarily as the ratio to GDP) follow a growth path. Based on tests for the stationarity of the time series of cultural expenditures in Austria, there are empirical indications that cultural expenditures, gross domestic product (GDP) and the relative price index (GDP and government expenditures) are cointegrated. Further econometric estimations (error-correction models) show that cultural expenditures increase with growing GDP but are vulnerable to short term fluctuations. Additionally, ``Baumol's cost disease' adds to the long-term growth of cultural expenditures. In the past the growth path of cultural expenditures has been stable and independent of the ideology of ruling parties, the form of government and political business cycles.     

Multiple creative talents and their determinants at the local level

Creativity is currently at the centre of a lively scientific debate in which scholars from different fields are engaged. The interest on such topic is mainly due to its potential positive impact on economic development; thus, understanding the determinants of creativity becomes important in terms of policy decisions. Although the existing literature has identified some determinants of creativity, evidence on the specific impact of such determinants on particular creative talents and on the degree of creative complexity within a local area is still scant. This work tries to fill this gap starting from the thought that the mental cross-fertilization of talents in different fields is what stimulates the best and most original ideas. By considering artistic, scientific, and economic creativities as the main modes in which creativity can show itself, the paper explores empirically the relation between local socio-economic characteristics and the concurrent presence of multiple creative talents.     

The drowned and the saved: the determinants of success in the Italian temporary art and cultural exhibitions market

This paper develops an empirical analysis of the determinants of the length of temporary art and cultural exhibitions. Using a sample of 659 exhibitions that took place in Italy in the period 2001–2010, a generalized linear model with a logit link and the binomial family was estimated. We also focus on the subsample of prolonged exhibitions, using a logistic accelerated failure time model. The empirical evidence supports the relevance of the subject, location and timing of the exhibition on duration; however, differences in the estimated impact of explanatory variables seem to suggest alternative marketing strategies for prolonged exhibitions.     

Trust the artist versus trust the tale: performance implications of talent and self-marketing in folk music

Based on a unique dataset of artists that are active in the German market for folk music—the third largest music genre in terms of popularity and sales—I study what factors determine the artists’ success. Following Rosen (Am Econ Rev 71(5):845–858, 1981), I test if differences in artistic performance have a direct effect on financial rewards as regards physical and digital record sales (“direct superstar effect”). Following Adler (Handbook on the economics of art and culture. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1985), I also study sales effects of a media presence of artists (“classical superstar effect”). Controlling for various contingency factors (e.g., record labels’ support, artists’ socio-demographics), I deal with an economic issue of general interest: Does it pay more to develop your skills in your core business to perfection or to maintain the current level of skills and invest in self-marketing; and do these effects apply to all folk artists alike? Rather contrary to studies on pop and rock genres, I find that higher ability increases artists’ revenues disproportionately, but simultaneously, openly competing for the recognition of one’s talent holds substantial economic risk. I also observe a positive effect of various types of media presence on financial rewards. However, these income determinants have different impacts on sales in physical versus in digital markets, and their effects vary across the success distribution from low- to top-selling artists as well.     

The Dynamics of Chart Success in the U.K. Pre-Recorded Popular Music Industry

In this paper we investigate the dynamics of chartsuccess in the U.K. pre-recorded popular music industryover the period 1980 to 1993 using the British albumchart listings. We find that the incidence of chartsuccess is substantially skewed to the right, whethermeasured by total weeks spent per artist, averageweeks spent per album, or the total number of albumslisted per artist. We subsequently investigatepossible determinants of the length of chart survivalof albums in order to determine what may be drivingthe observed skewness. Our results indicate that thetype of album, seasonal demand, and initial popularityplay an important role in ensuring continued chartlisting of an album.     

Signaling for access to high-demand markets: evidence from the US motion picture industry

We develop a signaling model in which imperfectly competitive firms signal quality through expenditures in segmented markets. Separation in this model results in high-quality firms selling their products in a high-demand, and highly quality elastic, period. Low-quality firms sell their product in a low demand but less quality-sensitive period. A dataset including 1697 US theatrical releases between 1998 and 2008 is compiled and explored for evidence of this separating equilibrium. We find that our measures of signal intensity and realized quality (budgets and critical ratings, respectively) are both significantly greater during high-demand periods. Ticket sales are also shown to be more sensitive to expected quality as measured by budgets during the high-demand season. Other seasonal differences and implications are explored.     

Cultural participation in major Chinese cities

We study the socioeconomic determinants of cultural participation in thirteen major Chinese cities for a broad range of indicators that cover highbrow and popular cultures. Consistent with previous studies from high-income countries, we find strong support for the elitism hypothesis: education and income increase participation in a broad range of cultural activities. There are also some exceptions. Interestingly, we also find a U-shaped relation between participation and city development for free and publicly supplied culture. Moreover, the impact of education, and to some extent also income, is weaker in richer cities. These findings contribute to understanding China’s key policy objective of promoting equal access to culture.     

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.

The effect of young children on their parents’ anime-viewing habits: evidence from Japanese microdata

Anime is now considered an accepted form of animation and is considered to represent Japanese contemporary culture worldwide. There are many fans of anime and manga, creating a community known as otaku world. However, Japanese anime and manga have gained popularity in Western countries as well as in Japan. This paper attempts to ascertain the determinants of watching anime in Japan based on individual-level data from Japan. Despite the growth in the number of adult anime fans, children are still more likely to watch anime than adults are. Hence, this study investigates how adults are influenced by the presence of their children. After controlling for individual characteristics, it was found that people are more likely to watch anime when they have children aged less than 12 years who have not yet entered junior high school. Such an effect is larger for parents who belong to an older generation where people are less likely to prefer anime. This implies that the externality coming from children results in parents watching anime. The findings of this study show that externalities from surrounding people play a critical role in enlarging the market of modern cultural goods representing “Cool Japan.”     

Economic impact of the arts: Theatre festivals in small Ontario communities

Conclusions This paper has demonstrated that visitors to professional theatre companies located in towns and villages of southern Ontario contribute to the economic well-being of the local economy. Furthermore, it has been documented that while all communities receive some monetary benefits, spatial variations are found to exist. These discrepancies are a function of differences in the average expenditures of non-local residents and the total number of visitors attending the theatre event. As expected, average expenditures appear to be highest in communities supporting a large commercial sector which are capable of sustaining a touris market. Moreover, the number of visitors attending a theatre event appears to be greatest in small communities supporting an established theratre company.     

Performing arts attendance in Taiwan: who and how often?

This paper uses the logistic regression model and the count data model to identify the determinants of the likelihood and frequency of attendance at performing arts events in Taiwan. Using data collected from a telephone survey, we find that education and income, being determinants of the likelihood of attendance, are not significant in determining frequency of attendance. On the other hand, whereas members of performing arts groups attend more frequently than non-members, holding a membership or not does not seem to affect the likelihood of attendance. Personal relationships with the performing arts industry make one more likely to attend as well as to attend more frequently. Those who more often watch or listen to performing arts programs through the media or pay more attention to performing arts-related information are also likely to participate in live events and participate frequently. Lastly, age dose matter. We further find evidence of both life cycle and human capital effects in performing arts attendance.     

The performance of global film franchises: installment effects and extension decisions

An empirical exploration of global film franchises provides insights for managers of film franchises, investors in franchisable products, and scholars interested in motion picture performance. Performance tends to deteriorate as extensions are introduced: production budgets rise, advertising expenditures remain similar, and the number of opening-weekend theaters experiences a jump with the first sequel and then remains similar in subsequent installments. However, revenue, return-on-investment (ROI) and audience and critical reviews fall, and foreign performance becomes increasingly important. Offsetting deteriorating performance, risk falls: revenue and ROI become more predictable. An early change in the lead actor causes reduced performance, but changes in key product characteristics and inputs in later installments help prolong the franchise. ROI of the current installment is the most critical financial determinant of whether a further extension will occur, but high-budget films and those with higher domestic share of revenue are also more likely to yield further extensions.     

Willingness to Pay for Submerged Maritime Cultural Resources

Many consider salvage value and tourism expenditures as the only economic values of a historic shipwreck. This paper looks at one alternative, the non-market value generated by management of shipwrecks as submerged maritime cultural resources. We consider the question: How much are people willing to pay to maintain shipwrecks in their pristine state? The contingent valuation method was implemented during summer 2001 as part of a telephone survey to households in eastern North Carolina. We find that households are willing to pay about $35 in a one-time increase in state taxes. Willingness to payis internally validated by expected relationships with prices and income but fails to pass the scope test. We speculate that we inadvertently succumbed to the well-known “birds” problem. The double-bounded willingness to pay questions are not incentive compatible and are subject to starting point bias, despite efforts to minimize these effects.     

Marketing and the Fine Arts – Inventory of a Controversial Relationship

This study concentrates in part on the market of fine arts. First, fine arts will be defined from a marketing point of view and peculiarities in the market of fine arts will be analysed empirically and theoretically. Certain aspects of marketing theory are discussed regarding their significance for the fine arts. Results of an empirical study of galleries and artists will be presented. It will be shown, whether and how artists are involved in marketing, how successful they are and what prerequisites to marketing the artists have.     

Estimating demand for opera using sales system data: the case of Finnish National Opera

Using detailed data for 2001–2009 from the sales system of the Finnish National Opera, we estimate the determinants of demand for opera tickets. We find that operas in their premiere season are more popular than reprises. Demand is lower for classical operas and higher for domestic operas and for performances with a famous opera singer. Press reviews and the overall popularity of the opera piece have the expected effects. There is also evidence of seasonal effects. By excluding temporarily discounted tickets, controlling for performance characteristics and quality and using a method that takes into account capacity constraints, we are able to credibly estimate the price elasticity of demand. The overall elasticity is close to unity: on average, a 1 % increase in prices would result in 1.16 % decrease in demand.     

Mobile consumers and the retail industry: the resistible advent of a new marketing scene

ABSTRACT

Over the last ten years, marketing professionals have invested in various devices aimed at digitalizing the point of sale. Mobile phones, and the connection they open between the digital and physical worlds, are likely to profoundly renew the way organizations build the representations of consumers upon which they operate. This article aims to describe the new, mobile-based market infrastructure that is currently being implemented; the figures of the consumer it builds on and renews for marketing purposes; and the opportunities it offers to create a new marketing scene. We address this question by focusing on the world of physical retail. We show that online commerce websites and http cookies have enabled a connection between three traditionally separate figures of the consumer and associated marketing scenes: the consumer as an audience, as a shopping cart, or as a (loyalty) card. The smartphone carries the promise of pursuing this movement into store aisles. We show, however, that the domestication of physical geography to cultivate mobile consumers is particularly difficult, and so far based on a series of disparate attempts and experiments.