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The Making of Cultural Policy: A European Perspective

In: Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture

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  • van der Ploeg, Frederick

Abstract

No good comparable data on sizes of cultural sectors of the countries of Europe exist. Still, local and national governments of Europe spend substantial resources on culture and cultural sectors contribute significantly to employment and national income. After briefly describing special features of cultural goods and clarifying some misconceptions about the value of culture, valid and invalid arguments for subsidizing culture are discussed. Although it is easy to justify government support for preservation of heritage, this is more difficult for the performing arts. Due to changing technologies and advent of E-culture classic public-good arguments for government intervention in broadcasting and other cultural activities become less relevant. Different institutions lead to different cultural landscapes. Theories of delegation suggest delegating the judgement on artistic qualities and execution of cultural policy to an independent Arts Fund, with the Minister of Culture concentrating on formulating a mission for cultural policy and making sure it is implemented properly. Insights from the theories of local public goods and federalism are applied to the making of cultural policy in Europe. Different approaches to international cultural policy in Europe are discussed. The overview concludes with lessons for the making of cultural policy in Europe.

Suggested Citation

  • van der Ploeg, Frederick, 2006. "The Making of Cultural Policy: A European Perspective," 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 34, pages 1183-1221, Elsevier.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:artchp:1-34
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    Cited by:

    1. Guccio, Calogero & Mazza, Isidoro, 2014. "On the political determinants of the allocation of funds to heritage authorities," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 18-38.
    2. Canoy, Marcel & van Ours, Jan C. & van der Ploeg, Frederick, 2006. "The Economics of Books," 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 21, pages 721-761, Elsevier.
    3. Gómez-Antonio, Miguel & del Moral Arce, Ignacio & Hortas-Rico, Miriam, 2022. "Are VAT reforms an effective tool for promoting culture? A quasi-experiment in Spain," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 44(5), pages 1016-1040.
    4. Baldin, Andrea & Marenzi, Anna & Zantomio, Francesca, 2025. "The impact of a public voucher for the arts," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    5. Bernardino Benito & Francisco Bastida & Cristina Vicente, 2013. "Municipal elections and cultural expenditure," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 37(1), pages 3-32, February.
    6. Finocchiaro Castro, Massimo & Guccio, Calogero & Rizzo, Ilde, 2009. "Determinants of Heritage Authorities’ Performance: An exploratory study with DEA bootstrapping approach," MPRA Paper 15984, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Gustavo Fernandes Souza & Ana Flávia Machado & Edson Paulo Domingues, 2019. "Economic impacts of the vale-cultura (culture voucher): a computable general equilibrium model," Textos para Discussão Cedeplar-UFMG 595, Cedeplar, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.
    8. Cezar Corneliu MANDA & Cristina Elena NICOLESCU & Dana MORTELMANS, 2017. "Financing Culture Institutions In European Context," SEA - Practical Application of Science, Romanian Foundation for Business Intelligence, Editorial Department, issue 13, pages 179-185, May.
    9. Bertacchini, Enrico & Dalle Nogare, Chiara, 2014. "Public provision vs. outsourcing of cultural services: Evidence from Italian cities," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 168-182.
    10. Jan Bouckaert & Bruno De Borger, 2013. "Price competition between subsidized organizations," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 109(2), pages 117-145, June.
    11. Luis Antonio Palma M. & Luis Fernando Aguado Q., 2010. "Economía de la cultura. Una nueva área de especialización de la economía," Revista de Economía Institucional, Universidad Externado de Colombia - Facultad de Economía, vol. 12(22), pages 129-165, January-J.
    12. Kai Konrad & Stergios Skaperdas, 2012. "The market for protection and the origin of the state," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 50(2), pages 417-443, June.
    13. Suchecki Adam Mateusz, 2015. "Income Elasticity of Culture Expenses in Polish Provinces," Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia, Sciendo, vol. 15(2), pages 153-166, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • Z19 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Other

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