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Optimal pricing and grant policies for museums

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  • Juan Prieto-Rodríguez
  • Víctor Fernández-Blanco

Abstract

The “free access” policy designed by the British Government has encouraged interest in museum financial issues. We define a principal-agent model for museum administration where there are two income sources: public grants and ticket revenues. This model allows us to define the optimal contract determining public grants, ticket prices, budget and managerial effort. We find a theoretical explanation for the inelastic pricing strategy commonly adopted in cultural economics. We further find that museum manager should never have any control over the price of tickets. The model can also be applied to other institutions, such as schools or NGOs, which are able to raise funds directly from private (e.g., ticket revenues or membership fees) or public sources. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, B.V. 2006

Suggested Citation

  • Juan Prieto-Rodríguez & Víctor Fernández-Blanco, 2006. "Optimal pricing and grant policies for museums," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 30(3), pages 169-181, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jculte:v:30:y:2006:i:3:p:169-181
    DOI: 10.1007/s10824-006-9012-9
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    2. Juan Prieto-Rodríguez & Víctor Fernández-Blanco, 2006. "Optimal pricing and grant policies for museums," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 30(3), pages 169-181, December.
    3. Frey, Bruno S. & Meier, Stephan, 2006. "The Economics of Museums," Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, in: V.A. Ginsburgh & D. Throsby (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 29, pages 1017-1047, Elsevier.
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Weekly report (Od bedaka do junaka)
      by andee in V krizi smisla tiči misel on 2011-10-08 17:00:00
    2. Vstopnine v muzeje da ali ne?
      by andee in V krizi smisla tiči misel on 2010-12-03 18:00:00

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Eva Vicente & Pablo de Frutos, 2011. "Application of the travel cost method to estimate the economic value of cultural goods: Blockbuster art exhibitions," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 196(1), pages 37-63, january.
    2. Shekhtman, Louis & Barabasi, Albert Laszlo, 2022. "Philanthropy in Art: Locality, Donor Retention, and Prestige," SocArXiv 5ebjw, Center for Open Science.
    3. Muzychuk, V. & Khaunina, E., 2015. "Support Mechanisms for Museums in the Economic Crisis (the Example of Major Museums of Europe and Russia)," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 25(1), pages 132-161.
    4. Fenghua Zhang & Pascal Courty, 2022. "The China museum visit boom: Government or demand driven?," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 46(1), pages 135-163, March.
    5. Vincent G. Munley, 2018. "A Contingent Valuation Analysis of the Galway City Museum: Welfare Estimates for Attendance in the Absence of an Admission Fee," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 49(4), pages 489-514.
    6. Elena GORI & Silvia FISSI, 2013. "From Cash to Accrual Accounting: A Model to Evaluate the Performance of Public Museums," REVISTA DE MANAGEMENT COMPARAT INTERNATIONAL/REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE MANAGEMENT, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 14(4), pages 519-541, October.
    7. Juan Prieto-Rodríguez & Rafael Salas & Santiago Álvarez-García, "undated". "The Evolution Of Income Inequality In The European Union," Working Papers 10-02 Classification-JEL , Instituto de Estudios Fiscales.
    8. Douglas Noonan, 2007. "Fiscal pressures, institutional context, and constituents: a dynamic model of states’ arts agency appropriations," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 31(4), pages 293-310, December.
    9. Bruno S. Frey & Lasse Steiner, 2010. "Pay as you go: a new proposal for museum pricing," IEW - Working Papers 485, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.
    10. Roberto Cellini & Tiziana Cuccia, 2018. "How free admittance affects charged visits to museums: an analysis of the Italian case," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 70(3), pages 680-698.
    11. Juan Prieto-Rodríguez & Víctor Fernández-Blanco, 2006. "Optimal pricing and grant policies for museums," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 30(3), pages 169-181, December.
    12. João Coelho & Carlos Santos, 2008. "The Budgeting of Portuguese Public Museums: a dynamic panel data analysis," Working Papers de Economia (Economics Working Papers) 032008, Católica Porto Business School, Universidade Católica Portuguesa.
    13. Frey, Bruno S. & Meier, Stephan, 2006. "The Economics of Museums," Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, in: V.A. Ginsburgh & D. Throsby (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 29, pages 1017-1047, Elsevier.
    14. Roberto Cellini & Tiziana Cuccia, 2019. "Weather conditions and museum attendance: a case-study from Sicily," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 511-527, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Grants; Public valuation; Public prices; Museums; Principal-agent model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C70 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - General
    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General
    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

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