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Workers’ access to Swedish opera houses and concert halls, 1898–2019

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  • Staffan Albinsson

    (University of Gothenburg)

Abstract

In this study ticket prices to Swedish opera houses and symphony orchestra concerts are compared to wages during the 1898–2019 period. Both wages and ticket prices have increased continuously. The same kind of policy objectives concerning social inclusion of disadvantaged groups that were established in the beginning of the twentieth century is still proclaimed. The most favourable ticket pricing policies for buyers were used in the decades around the first national Cultural Policy Act from 1974. The study shows that ticket price levels have risen thereafter to a level much less favourable for low-income workers. Managements do use some price discrimination tactics. However, they do it uniformly for all events. They now focus on the promotion of special, ‘popular music’-based events as a response to social inclusion directives. The idea is that attending such performances will make visitors interested in the normal repertoire, as well. The choice of high-level ticket prices for the traditional content means that the standard audience remains monocultural.

Suggested Citation

  • Staffan Albinsson, 2023. "Workers’ access to Swedish opera houses and concert halls, 1898–2019," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 47(1), pages 1-30, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:jculte:v:47:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s10824-021-09437-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10824-021-09437-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pascal Courty & Mario Pagliero, 2012. "The Impact of Price Discrimination on Revenue: Evidence from the Concert Industry," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(1), pages 359-369, February.
    2. E. Woodrow Eckard & Marlene A. Smith, 2012. "The Revenue Gains from Multi‐Tier Ticket Pricing: Evidence from Pop Music Concerts," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(7-8), pages 463-473, October.
    3. Victoria Ateca-Amestoy, 2008. "Determining heterogeneous behavior for theater attendance," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 32(2), pages 127-151, June.
    4. Ericsson, Johan & Molinder, Jakob, 2020. "Economic Growth and the Development of Real Wages: Swedish Construction Workers’ Wages in Comparative Perspective, 1831–1900," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 80(3), pages 813-852, September.
    5. Junlong Wu & Keshen Jiang & Chaoqing Yuan, 2019. "Determinants of demand for traditional Chinese opera," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(6), pages 2129-2148, December.
    6. Phillip Leslie, 2004. "Price Discrimination in Broadway Theater," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 35(3), pages 520-541, Autumn.
    7. Staffan Albinsson, 2019. "Sing it out loud! The entrepreneurship of SME opera enterprises in Scandinavia," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 37(4), pages 449-471.
    8. Owen, John D, 1971. "The Demand for Leisure," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(1), pages 56-76, Jan.-Feb..
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    Cited by:

    1. Fernanda Gutierrez-Navratil & Maria J. Perez-Villadoniga & Juan Prieto-Rodriguez, 2024. "Attracting new audiences to high culture: an analysis of live broadcasted performing arts at cinema theaters," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 48(3), pages 387-404, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social inclusion; Ticket pricing; Performing arts; Cultural economics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N34 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: 1913-
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods

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