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Economic and cultural factors and illegal copying in the university textbook market

Author

Listed:
  • Antonello E. Scorcu

    (Department of Economics, University of Bologna, Italy)

  • Laura Vici

    (Department of Economics, University of Bologna, Italy)

Abstract

The role of economic factors, such as family income, the price of illegal reproductions of books, the enforcement rules and the expected penalties are considered the main determinants of the possible infringements of the copyright law. However, the comparison between individual economic gains and losses offers only a partial explanation, as also cultural individual habits and peer effects exert important influences. Using a unique dataset based on a survey conducted at the University of Bologna, Italy, this paper analyses empirically the relevance of socio-economic as well as cultural determinants in the decision process of using illegal copies of university textbooks. From a policy perspective, the analysis suggests that an effective enforcement of the copyright rules should take into account the cultural behavior and students'€™ learning practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonello E. Scorcu & Laura Vici, 2013. "Economic and cultural factors and illegal copying in the university textbook market," ACEI Working Paper Series AWP-01-2013, Association for Cultural Economics International, revised Feb 2013.
    • Handle: RePEc:cue:wpaper:awp-01-2013
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Copyright; textbooks; illegal copying;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z11 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economics of the Arts and Literature

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