Entertainment audiovisual contents

economic and social motivations for its development

Authors

  • Orlando Gomes Escola Superior de Comunicação Social, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4000/cp.8647

Keywords:

entertainment contents, digital goods, audiovisual trade policy, competition, scale economies, national identity

Abstract

The audiovisual industry related to entertainment contents corresponds to an economic activity that produces a good that is tradable in the markets. According to this view, there is no straightforward reason to look at this industry on a different way relatively to any other. Under the logic of specialization and free trade, the referred industry should subsist and grow if the economy demonstrates to have a productive advantage at this level. Otherwise, it would make sense the acquisition of audiovisual products through imports that should be paid with the receipts of any other exporting industries.
Nevertheless, the audiovisual entertainment industry possesses peculiar characteristics. Relatively to the referred good there are various market flaws that are identifiable. Specifically, in what concerns entertainment contents, preferences are endogenous (the preferences of each individual are dependent on the preferences of others), and the corresponding production is associated with the cultural development of the society; thus, the protection of the national industry may yield an essential element of national cohesion and of protection of a patrimony relating collective memory and identity. Under this point of view, a protectionist commercial policy, to support the survival of this industry, may make sense.
In this paper we intend to evaluate the relevance of the public protection in what concerns the international trade of entertainment contents. This will be made in three steps: (i) identification of the distinctive properties of the mentioned kind of goods; (ii) discussion about the reasons that motivate the specialization on the production of a given type of content; (iii) presentation of arguments in favour of protection in the audiovisual entertainment industry.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Akerlof, G. A. e R. E. Kranton (2000) Economics and Identity, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115, pp. 715-753. DOI : 10.1162/003355300554881 good / bad

Aubert, C.; P. K. Bardhan e J. Dayton-Johnson (2003) Artfilms, Handicrafts and Other Cultural Goods, University of California at Berkeley, department of Economics.

Bala, V. e N. van Long (2004) International Trade and Cultural Diversity: a Model of Preference Selection, CESifo working paper nº 1242. DOI : 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2004.09.001 good / bad

Chapman, N. P. e J. Chapman (2000) Digital Multimedia. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons.

Dayton-Johnson, J. (2002) The Economics of Cultural Policy in the Internet Age, Canadian Journal of Communication, 27, pp. 447-452.

Doyle, G. (2002) Understanding Media Economics. London, SAGE Publications Lda. DOI : 10.4135/9781446279960 good / bad

Gomes, O. (2004) Os Bens Digitais e a Dinâmica da Weightless Economy, Economia Global e Gestão, IX, nº 2, pp. 53-64.

Hesmondhalgh, D. (2002). The Cultural Industries. London, SAGE Publications Company.

Klamer, A. (2001) Social, Cultural and Economic Values of Cultural Goods. Erasmus University working paper.

Krugman, P. R. (1979) A Model of Innovation, Technology Transfer, and the World Distribution of Income, Journal of Political Economy, 87, nº 2, pp.253-266. DOI : 10.1086/260755 good / bad

Krugman, P. R. (1980) Scale Economies, Product Differentiation and the Pattern of Trade, American Economic Review, 70, nº 5, pp. 950-959.

Krugman, P. R. (1981) Intra-industry Specialization and the Gains from Trade, Journal of Political Economy, 89, nº 5, pp. 959-973.

Marvasti, A. (2000) Motion Pictures Industry: Economics of Scale and Trade International Journal of the Economics of Business, 7, nº 1, pp. 99-114.

Mill, J. S. (1848) Principles of Political Economy. New York, A. M. Kelley [1965].

Monzoncillo, J. M. A. (2003) Cine: Riesgos y Oportunidades se Equilibran ante el Cambio Digital. In Bustamante (ed.) Hacia un Nuevo Sistema Mundial de Comunicación: las Industrias Culturales en la Era Digital, Barcelona, Gedisa Editorial, pp. 85-110.

Neves, A. C. (2003) A Indústria de Conteúdos. Uma Visão Estratégica. Lisboa, GEPE – Gabinete de Estudos e Prospectiva Económica do Ministério da Economia.

Paterson, R. (1998) Drama and Entertainment. In A. Smith and R. Paterson (eds.) Television: an International History. Oxford, Oxford University Press, pp. 57-68.

Quah, D. (2002) Digital Goods and the New Economy. Working paper, London, LSE Economics Department.

Ricardo, D. (1817) On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press [1951].

Smith, A. (1776) An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Everyman Edn., London, David Campbell Publishers [1991].

UNESCO (2002) Meeting of Experts on Audiovisual Services: Improving the Participation of Developing Countries. Working document prepared by the UNESCO Secretariat for the meeting organized by the UNCTAD with the co-operation of the UNESCO.

Published

2022-02-18

How to Cite

Entertainment audiovisual contents: economic and social motivations for its development. (2022). Comunicação Pública, 2(3/4). https://doi.org/10.4000/cp.8647