Consumption of cultural goods. 2400-PLSM121B
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: 3 ECTS × 25 h = 75 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), 45 h (S)
Total: 30 h (K) + 45 h (S) = 75 h
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, the student:
IN TERMS OF KNOWLEDGE:
• Understands the principles of selecting and applying data analysis methods and research tools appropriate to the research problem.
• Knows the principles of interpreting empirical and theoretical research results in the context of existing subject literature.
IN TERMS OF SKILLS:
• Can independently conduct empirical research or theoretical analyses according to the adopted methodology.
• Can critically interpret obtained results and formulate preliminary research conclusions.
• Can develop and edit the main chapters of a master’s thesis, maintaining methodological and substantive coherence.
IN TERMS OF COMPETENCIES:
• Is prepared to independently and responsibly carry out complex research tasks.
• Demonstrates maturity in accepting substantive feedback from the supervisor and using it to improve the work.
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: