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The dissertation consists of two parts. The first part investigates whether and how to protect cultural goods. In particular, Chapter II analyses how the notion of social identity affects the respective demand for protection of cultural goods independent of its tangible or intangible nature. Chapter III and IV critically review to what extent geographical indications are a suitable means for protecting traditional knowledge and whether the provision of such rights can be justified from an information economics perspective. The second part of the dissertation examines the influence of social...

The dissertation consists of two parts. The first part investigates whether and how to protect cultural goods. In particular, Chapter II analyses how the notion of social identity affects the respective demand for protection of cultural goods independent of its tangible or intangible nature. Chapter III and IV critically review to what extent geographical indications are a suitable means for protecting traditional knowledge and whether the provision of such rights can be justified from an information economics perspective. The second part of the dissertation examines the influence of social identity in the provision of cultural goods. Four chapters (Chapter V, VI, VII, and VIII) test how social identity affects their provision dependent on whether subjects are interacting in identity-homogeneous (in-) or identity-heterogeneous (out-) groups. This takes place in a laboratory environment in the context of public goods experiments. The findings reveal that group composition is of high relevance when public policy addresses one's social identity. Especially, social identity might be of crucial importance in terms of voluntarily maintaining cultural goods within cultural groups.

AbstractThis article addresses the current international debate on the protection of cultural goods. Whereas some groups (such as indigenous peoples) are arguing for the creation of cultural property rights analogous to classic intellectual property rights such as patent and copyright, most industrialized countries advocate to keep cultural goods within the public domain. In this article, we develop an economic perspective based on identity and clarify the question of which cultural goods should be protected, regulated, or left in the public domain. We conclude that protection based on the concept of identity is required for a very limited scope of cultural goods.