Change and Challenge: Two Decades in the Economics of Art and Culture

In this paper I consider the development of cultural economics at an international level over the twenty-one years of the Italian association's existence, as a means of providing a context within which contributions to this issue of the journal, dealing specifically with the Italian experience, can be placed. This paper is not intended to be a comprehensive survey, nor a review of the literature, but rather a selective view of some significant areas of the economics of art and culture that have engaged the attention of researchers and writers in the field. The paper discusses the performing arts, labour markets, heritage, the cultural industries and cultural policy, and culture in economic development. A list of the principal surveys of the field, which contain plentiful references to the (English-language) literature, is provided at the end of the paper.