nep-cul New Economics Papers
on Cultural Economics
Issue of 2013‒03‒30
two papers chosen by
Roberto Zanola
University Amedeo Avogadro

  1. Public provision vs outsourcing of cultural services: evidence from italian cities By Bertacchini Enrico; Dalle Nogare Chiara
  2. Understanding creativity and innovation in industrial design: an historical and empirical assessment By Bertacchini Enrico; Friel Martha

  1. By: Bertacchini Enrico; Dalle Nogare Chiara (University of Turin)
    Abstract: Cultural policy often implies the transfer of public resources to private cultura l institutions. In this contribution we focus on the determinants of a government’s choice between cultural transfers and in-house cultural production. We argue that in the cultural field transfers may be seen as a proxy for the value of outsourced services, and we make reference to the empirical literature on outsourcing of local public services. We consider Italian cities’ cultural policies in the1998-2008 period, a time when overall cultural expenditure shrank while cultural transfers increased. Using dynamic panel data analysis and controlling for specific characteristics of each city, we find that outsourcing of cultural services is negatively affected by cultural assets specificity and is more likely tooccur in cities subject to fiscal stress. The results also highlight that the timing of elections affects the transfer of public resources to private cultural institutions
    Date: 2013–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201312&r=cul
  2. By: Bertacchini Enrico; Friel Martha (University of Turin)
    Abstract: In the last decades, industrial design has been increasingly recognized as a sector combining elements of both artistic creativity and economic innovation. Using a unique dataset encompassing information on 326 top designers, 242 firms and 935 products from 1913 to 2000, we investigate the main patterns of the industrial des ign industry. First, we analyze the worldwide evolution of the creative sector in terms of industry structure, changes in product materials and agglomeration dynamics of both firms and designers. Second, we provide a preliminary quantitative investigation of designers’ creativity life-cycles. The paper contributes to the cultural economics literature by shedding light on the relations between creativity and innovation in creative industries
    Date: 2013–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201311&r=cul

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