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What Values Should Count in the Arts? The Tension between Economic Effects and Cultural Value

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  • Bruno S. Frey

Abstract

The basic distinction made in this volume compares "economic value", expressed in monetary terms, to "cultural value", reflecting cultural, aesthetic and artistic significance. This paper makes a different distinction which is rarely made explicit but which is of central importance to the decision process in cultural policy. On the one hand, "value" is attached to the economic effects of cultural activities: When cultural values are created, economic activity is bolstered. The increase of commercial actitivities induced is measured by the so-called "impact effect". On the other hand, the value of culture is reflected in the increased utility going to consumers and non-consumers of a particular cultural activity. This type of value is measured by "willingness to pay studies". I argue that these two values dominate cultural policy but they capture totally different aspects and are proferred by different kinds of communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruno S. Frey, "undated". "What Values Should Count in the Arts? The Tension between Economic Effects and Cultural Value," IEW - Working Papers 253, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.
    • Handle: RePEc:zur:iewwpx:253
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Trine Hansen, 1997. "The Willingness-to-Pay for the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen as a Public Good," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 21(1), pages 1-28, March.
    2. Eric Thompson & Mark Berger & Glenn Blomquist & Steven Allen, 2002. "Valuing the Arts: A Contingent Valuation Approach," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 26(2), pages 87-113, May.
    3. Walter Santagata & Giovanni Signorello, 2000. "Contingent Valuation of a Cultural Public Good and Policy Design: The Case of ``Napoli Musei Aperti''," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 24(3), pages 181-204, August.
    4. K.G. Willis, 2002. "Research Note: Iterative Bid Design in Contingent Valuation and the Estimation of the Revenue Maximising Price for a Cultural Good," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 26(4), pages 307-324, November.
    5. Douglas Noonan, 2003. "Contingent Valuation and Cultural Resources: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Literature," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 27(3), pages 159-176, November.
    6. Mueller,Dennis C., 2003. "Public Choice III," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521894753, September.
    7. Paul F. Whiteley (ed.), 1998. "Economic Policy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, volume 0, number 996.
    8. Richard Epstein, 2003. "The Regrettable Necessity of Contingent Valuation," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 27(3), pages 259-274, November.
    9. David Throsby, 2003. "Determining the Value of Cultural Goods: How Much (or How Little) Does Contingent Valuation Tell Us?," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 27(3), pages 275-285, November.
    10. Peacock, Alan T, 1969. "Welfare Economics and Public Subsidies to the Arts," The Manchester School of Economic & Social Studies, University of Manchester, vol. 37(4), pages 323-335, December.
    11. Throsby, David, 1994. "The Production and Consumption of the Arts: A View of Cultural Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 32(1), pages 1-29, March.
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    1. Vrednotenje ekonomskih učinkov kulturnih dogodkov – nova metoda
      by andee in V krizi smisla tiči misel on 2016-12-25 23:16:50

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    Cited by:

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    2. Ana Vico Belmonte & Arturo Sánchez-Vasconcellos Méndez, 2022. "Las rentabilidades del arte como motivo para la inversión: preferencias de compra en tiempos de COVID-19," Tiempo y Economía, Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, vol. 9(1), pages 180-203, January.
    3. Andrej Srakar & Marilena Vecco, 2017. "Ex-ante versus ex-post: comparison of the effects of the European Capital of Culture Maribor 2012 on tourism and employment," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 41(2), pages 197-214, May.
    4. Douglas S. Noonan & Ilde Rizzo, 2017. "Economics of cultural tourism: issues and perspectives," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 41(2), pages 95-107, May.
    5. Berg, Nathan, 2014. "Success from satisficing and imitation: Entrepreneurs' location choice and implications of heuristics for local economic development," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(8), pages 1700-1709.
    6. Jack Newsinger & William Green, 2016. "The infrapolitics of cultural value: cultural policy, evaluation and the marginalisation of practitioner perspectives," Journal of Cultural Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(4), pages 382-395, August.
    7. Bronwyn Coate & Robert Hoffmann, 2022. "The behavioural economics of culture," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 46(1), pages 3-26, March.
    8. Madison, Michael J & Frischmann, Brett M. & Strandburg, Katherine J., 2017. "Governing Knowledge Commons -- Introduction & Chapter 1," LawArXiv af3ud, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic effects; culture; value; arts; contingent valuation; impact studies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z11 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economics of the Arts and Literature
    • D46 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Value Theory
    • D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory

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