Author: Cwi, David and Lyall, Katharine C.

Publication Year: 1976

Media Type: Report

Summary:

In recent years there has been a growing interest on the part of the arts community to document the full range of effects of the arts and arts institutions on American life. In particular, while the primary purpose of artistic and cultural institutions is not to create jobs, generate business for local entrepreneurs, or boost sales of durable goods, many in the arts community have felt it important to engage in studies aimed at estimating the economic effects of selected arts institutions on their local communities.

Abstract:

In recent years there has been a growing interest on the part of the arts community to document the full range of effects of the arts and arts institutions on American life. In particular, while the primary purpose of artistic and cultural institutions is not to create jobs, generate business for local entrepreneurs, or boost sales of durable goods, many in the arts community have felt it important to engage in studies aimed at estimating the economic effects of selected arts institutions on their local communities. Intentionally or not, arts institutions do generate a number of economic effects.

Under a grant from the Research Division of the National Endowment for the Arts, we tackled the job of developing a model which could be used by the general arts community - individuals likely not to have had advanced training in economics and the social sciences - to estimate a variety of positive and negative economic effects of arts institutions on their local communities. More generally, the model we adapted: utilizes data generally available from an institution's internal records or from local, state or federal documents; can be adapted to a variety of settings and take account of local governmental, social, institutional, and economic conditions; focuses not only on the institution but on its employees and audiences as well; can be used to assess the effects of one institution or many; uses as inputs a variety of policy-relevant data respecting an institution and its community; and identifies negative as well as positive effects on the local economic base.

[This report] is a brief introduction to the model, and a report on the results of its application to a group of eight institutions in metropolitan Baltimore. (p. 54).

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Economic Impact