Does cultural education contribute to higher consumption of the arts? Evidence from South Korea

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of cultural capital on arts consumption. We divide cultural capital into five types – arts education of infancy and childhood, adolescence and adulthood, arts-related volunteer work, and arts-related club – and focused on active and passive acquisition of such capital. We conduct an empirical analysis considering that the dependent variable is zero-inflated. Specifically, we conduct zero-inflated negative binomial regression to analyse the causal effect of cultural capital on arts consumption. In addition, Oaxaca decomposition with zero-inflated negative binomial regression is performed to compare the effectiveness of cultural capital. Our results show that consumption of cultural capital increases consumption of the arts. In particular, the effect of arts education was the highest in adulthood, indicating that voluntary acquisition is effective and the benefits from arts education are durable. Our research could provide insights for government organizations engaged in promotion of arts and inform policymaking.