Identifying the economic impact behind a cultural asset: an input–output subsystems analysis

Nowadays, cultural activities are recognised as having a positive impact on regional and local development. In this paper, we analyse the economic impact of a new museum (the Gaudí Centre) on the regional economy by quantifying the amount of new productive income and new employment it has created. As far as we know, this is the first study to analyse the economic impact of a museum in quantitative terms by using an input–output subsystem analysis in which we differentiate the service sectors, which are closely connected to the museum’s direct demand, from the non-service activities, which are not so closely connected. Our results show that the museum has a considerable impact on the regional economy and suggest that cultural investments can play a role in income generation that goes beyond that of mere cultural activities. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2012