Advanced Introduction to Cultural Economics

‘Ruth Towse presents a fabulous, broad ranging overview of cultural economics. The book is up to the state of knowledge, is easy to read and reveals sound judgment. I highly recommend the book to anyone concerned about the relationship of culture to society – as everyone should!’ – Bruno S. Frey, University of Zurich, Switzerland and Zeppelin University, Germany Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by some of the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. Written by an internationally renowned expert in the field, Professor Ruth Towse, this book presents a comprehensive yet concise introduction to cultural economics. She covers a broad range of topics in the arts and cultural industries, using the tools of economics to explain their supply and demand, production and consumption. Starting from the 1960s concern about costs and public finance in the performing arts, the subject has developed over the last fifty years to include museums and built heritage, and lately, the wider creative industries and their issues with copyright. This book explains the theoretical underpinnings and reports on the main empirical research on the creative industries, cultural policy, performing arts, heritage, artists’ labour markets, copyright, broadcasting, film and music, festivals, cities of culture, creative clusters and economic impact.