Consumption of cultural goods. 2400-PLSM121A
Cultural goods have some characteristics of the experience goods: the quality of the good can only be observed after consumption. Individuals have to consume them in order to know what utility they derive.
For experience good the consumer has imperfect ex ante consumption information with respect to the characteristics of the good that are important to the derivation of utility. As a result, when uncertainty with respect to the quality of the goof is high, a buyer who is willing to pay for a good but who is risk-averse may abstain from the purchase. This may be the case in many cultural goods in particular if the consumer may choose free unauthorized version of the product as an alternative (mainly those offered digitally). Is it thus recommendable for a seller of cultural goods, such as movies, audiobooks, ebooks to implement ex post consumption payment scheme? Another problem is the time constraint. What part of our budget time we spent on culture?
We analyze those and related problems using experimental method, questionnaire surveys and existing data. We also discuss the technical aspects of writing the thesis. During the seminar students receive information about the necessary literature and databases.
Estimated student workload: 23 ECTS × 25 h = 575 h
(K) – contact hours, (S) – independent study hours
Meetings: 30 h (K), 0 h (S)
Student’s own work on writing the thesis: 0 h (K), 470 h (S)
Preparation for the defense: 0 h (K), 75 h (S)
Total: 30 h (K) + 545 h (S) = 575 h
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, the student:
IN TERMS OF KNOWLEDGE:
Knows and understands the principles of finalizing a scientific work, including the formal, methodological, and ethical requirements of a master’s thesis.
Understands the importance of critically synthesizing research results and their contribution to the development of knowledge in the discipline of economics.
Knows the principles of presenting and defending research findings.
IN TERMS OF SKILLS:
Can independently finalize a complete master’s thesis that meets second-cycle academic standards.
Can perform an in-depth synthesis of research results and formulate final conclusions of both scientific and practical relevance.
Can prepare for the master’s thesis defense and competently present and justify the adopted research solutions.
IN TERMS OF COMPETENCIES:
Is prepared to independently and responsibly complete a complex research project.
Demonstrates scientific maturity in presenting and defending the results of their own research in an academic environment.
Finance and Accounting:
K_W02, K_W03, K_W04, K_U01, K_U04, K_U05, K_U07, K_K01, K_K02, K_K03
Assessment criteria
Preparing the thesis according to the plan adopted during the course.
Bibliography
Literature will be selected individually for graduate students depending on the thesis. Sample literature:
Ateca-Amestoy V. (2007): “Cultural capital and demand”, Economics Bulletin, Vol. 26, Issue 1, 1-9.
Bolton, G., Ockenfels, A. (2000): “ERC: A Theory of Equity, Reciprocity and Competition” American Economic Review, Vol. 90, no. 1, pp.166—193.
Breidert, Ch., Hahsler, M., Reutterer, T. (2006): “A review of Methods for Measuring Willingness-To-Pay”, Innovative Marketing, Vol. 2, Issue 4, 8-32.
Dufwenberg, M., G. Kirchsteiger (2004): “A theory of sequential reciprocity”, Games and Economic Behavior, Vol. 47, Issue 2, pp. 268-298.
Egbert, H., Greiff, M, Xhangolli, K. (2014): “PWYW Pricing ex post Consumption: A Sales Strategy for Experience Goods”, MPRA Paper No. 53376, Online at:
http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/53376/
Fehr, E., Schmidt, K. M., (1999): “A Theory of Fairness, Competition and Co-operation”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 114, Issue 3, pp. 817-868
Gneezy, A., Gneezy, U., Riener, G.; Nelson, L. D. (2012): “Pay-what-you-want, identity, and self - signaling in markets”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(19),
7236–7240.
IIPA (2010): “2010 SPECIAL 301 REPORT ON COPYRIGHT PROTECTION AND ENFORCEMENT, POLAND,”
http://www.iipa.com/rbc/2010/2010SPEC301POLAND.pdf
Kirmani, A., Rao, A. R. (2000): “No pain, no gain: A critical review of the literature on signalling unobservable product quality”, Journal of Marketing, 64(2), 66–79.
Lévy-Garboua, L. and Montmarquette, C. (2002): “The Demand for the Arts", 2002s-10 Cirano Scienti Series, Montreal, Reprinted as "Demand" in Towse, R. (ed) (2003), A Handbook of Cultural Economics, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.
Lutz, N. A. (1989): “Warranties as signals under consumer moral hazard”, RAND Journal of Economics, 20(2), 239–255.
Milgrom, P. Roberts, J. (1986): “Price and advertising signals of product quality”, Journal of Political Economy, 94(4), 796–821.
Nelson, P. (1970): “Information and consumer behaviour”, Journal of Political Economy, 78, 2, 311-329.
Prelec, Drazen (2004): “A Bayesian truth serum for subjective data”, Science, Volume, 306. Issue 5695. Pages, 462-466
Rabin, M. (1993): “Incorporating Fairness into Game Theory and Economics”, The American Economic Review, Vol 83, Issue 5, pp. 1281-1302.\
Regner, T., Riener, G. (2012): “Voluntary payments, privacy and social pressure on the internet: A natural field experiment”, DICE Discussion Paper, No. 82.
Thaler, R. (1985): “Mental accounting and consumer choice”, Marketing Science, 4(3), 199–214.
Towse, R. (2011) „Ekonomia kultury. Kompendium”, Narodowe Centrum Kultury, Warsaw
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: