Charity on the English and early American model must be distinguished from philanthropy as it developed in America at the turn of the twentieth century. Philanthropy aims at the systemic eradication of social ills rather than, as does charity, at their amelioration. The general purpose...

American cultural policy is made and executed by multiple governmental entities, with a large part of direct public expenditure coming from sub-national governments rather than the central government. Much the largest share of government support is provided by tax concessions for gifts to...

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...

Cultural allegiances whether inherited, imposed or chosen, affect economic activity. Many of these cultural layers – ethnic background, religion, language, ideological orientation, and artistic interests – spill over national boundaries. Cultural ideas travel the world along many routes from...

The aim of this chapter is to analyze the economic properties and the institutions governing the start-up and evolution of cultural districts. Cultural districts are a good example of economic development based on localized firms and local culture. The first part of the chapter (Sections 1–2)...

The organization of the creative (arts and entertainment) industries rests on many types of contracts. These contracts govern collaborations between artists and other parties – at arm's length, or within an enterprise. These contracts' structures devolve from a few bedrock properties of...

Creativity is a basic human trait that comes into play in a variety of contexts, including the production of art. It relates to the capacity of individuals to think inventively and imaginatively and to go beyond traditional ways of solving problems. In this chapter we consider various...

The nonprofit performing arts have received substantial attention in the cultural economics literature, and represent an interesting application for many areas of economic inquiry. This chapter surveys the relevant theory and the most prominent empirical studies on performing arts nonprofits....

The revolutionary growth in economic prosperity and technological change that underlie the “new economy” have profoundly affected the arts. They have evidently contributed new and previously unimaginable methods of dissemination and preservation. But they have even had revolutionary effects...

This essay addresses the definition of artistic and cultural goods by the commonsense and pragmatic assertion that they are respectively goods that carry artistic and cultural (non-economic) values. However, these categories of non-economic value are themselves highly contested and require...