Difference Between Individuals’ and Couples’ Choice: Empirical Analysis of Opera and Ballet Theatre Spectators
Another seminar of the GAMES research group jointly with research and training group “Empirical demand estimation” took place. The group members told first-year students about existing and planned research projects and clubs for students. After that Dmitriy Potapov presented his research about purchasing of tickets for performances of the Opera and ballet theatre.
Students of the Faculty of economics, management and business-informatics took part in the seminar. In his welcome address the head of the group Dmitriy Potapov presented basic lines of research: modelling of consumer choice in retail (together with “Semya” (‘Family’) food retail chain), demand estimation for telecommunication services (together with “Rostelecom”), demand estimation in electric power market, studying of behaviour of online games players, demand estimation for credits and estimation of possibilities of bankruptcy, demand estimation for performances of Perm opera and ballet theatre. Dmitriy Potapov also underlined that students’ initiative and desire are the most important things. Participation in the group’s projects is an opportunity for students to use real data in their research, to learn many new things and to get useful skills (working with data, statistical methods etc.) Advanced knowledge of English is preferable because most part of academic articles is published abroad.
The GAMES members told about the projects which are currently being implemented. Evgeny Ozhegov carries out some researches connected with economics of culture. For example, he is now studying the behaviour of spectators of the Opera and ballet theatre. The phenomena which were found in this market can be extrapolated to other spheres. Evgeny is also studying consumers’ behaviour in the book market. Besides, he has been supervising the students’ econometrics club for two years already (on Fridays at 4:00 pm). Students of different years may participate: econometric models and various cases are discussed at the club sessions.
Aleksei Chadov is now working over two big projects: demand estimation for telecommunication services and analysis of the coaches’ behaviour in “Voice” TV show.
Last year two new research fellows joined the group: Aleksei Buzmakov and Sofia Kulikova. Aleksei works on data mining and machine learning while Sofia is occupied with neuroeconomics and brain studies, in particular, recovery after ischemic stroke.
In the second part of the seminar Dmitriy Potapov presented the report about the joint research with Evgeny Ozhegov connected with the analysis of buying tickets in a theatre.
The consumption of such cultural product as theatre performances is characterized by the situation when most part of spectators visits a theatre in a company of two or more people. From economic point of view it means that during the process of selection, preferences of several individuals are somehow taken into account. Empirical analysis was done based on the data on ticket sales in Perm opera and ballet theatre in 2011-2015. Using advanced econometric methods the speaker demonstrated that there was a difference in basic determinants of demand (price, quality, other product characteristics) in case of individual’s and couple’s choice of a certain play and seats in the auditorium.